The Natural History of Pokemon
by Shadow Wasserson
Summary: If pokemon were real animals, what would they be like? Read this handy guide to find out!
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**A/N:** I like biology, and I like pokemon. So why not combine them?

This does not take place in the game-verse or the anime-verse. Rather, think of this as a 'real' alternate world about which the game and anime were made… more realistic, more detailed, and with many of the nonsensical things in the games and anime done away with.

I will sometimes be treating pokemon evolution groups as one species with several life stages, and sometimes as separate but related species. Sorry if you don't like the way I treated it.

Against my better judgment, I have decided to illustrate this guide with my rather poor sketches. If you're interested in seeing them, look under 'shadow-wasser' on DeviantArt.

So, without further ado:

**The Natural History of Pokemon**

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**Introduction**

Imagine. You are hiking along a beautiful mountain path in the Sky Pillar Mountains. Deep green conifers stretch to all sides, carpeting steep granite slopes. Suddenly, you see a flash of movement to your right: a large, sky blue and white bird flies out of the trees and perches on a pine bough. It stays for a moment, lets out a loud whistle, then vanishes back into the green. _What was that?_ you wonder.

Well, wonder no longer! This text will help you in the identification of every registered species of pokemon in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions. It includes natural history information about every species, including behavior. Rated a 'Must Have!' for any upcoming pokénaturalist by the Goldenrod Gazette, _The Natural History of Pokemon_ is the most complete guide yet published to the ecology of these fascinating creatures.

It should be noted by the reader that this is not a guide to any of the small, nonpokemon insects, rodents, fish, and birds that inhabit our world. Nor is this a guide for the care of pokemon in captivity or a strategy guide for those invested in the sport of pokemon battling. Such topics are well-covered in other publications. Rather, this is a book for those who love learning about and viewing pokemon in the wild, where they belong.

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**How to use this book**

**Common Name:** The most common names for the pokemon.

**Scientific Name**: The binomial name used in scientific nomenclature. (Note that 'artificial' pokemon do not have a scientific name)

**Description**: The identifying physical features of the pokemon.

**Range:** Where the pokemon is found, geographically.

**Habitat:** The pokemon's habitat.

**Call:** The pokemon's vocalizations.

**Diet**: What the pokemon eats, and how it gets its food.

**Life Cycle**: The pokemon's reproductive behavior and development.

**Relationship with Humans:** The pokemon's endangered status, uses, and public perception.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Other interesting facts about the pokemon's behavior, physiology, and ecology.


	2. Venusaurus rafflesiformes

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name**: Bulbasaur, Fushigidane (young), Ivysaur, Fushigisou (subadult), Venusaur, Fushigibana (adult).

**Scientific Name:** _Venusaurus rafflesiformes_

**Description:** Venusaur are large, heavy-set pokemon. They measure 79 inches from nose to rear, stand 32 inches high at the shoulder, and the skull alone measures two feet across. They are quadrupeds, with large, thick legs and three-toed feet. As mammo-reptiles, they fall more on the reptilian side of the spectrum, although they do have external ears. However, unlike as in more mammalian pokemon, these ears lack muscles for rotation, and are immobile. Their eyes are oval and red, with a round pupil. They have large, wide mouths, with sharp, conical teeth that project outside the lips. Their hide is thick and scaly, and is colored a beautiful green-blue.

However, a Venusaur's most distinctive feature is the symbiotic plant that grows out of its back. The visible parts of the plant are an 18-inch stem resembling that of a palm tree, four to eight sharp-edged, palmlike fronds, and a large, striking red bloom with white spots and six petals. Female Venusaur have a large ovary that is visible as an egg-shaped growth on the top of the flower. Invisible to the observer are the plant's roots, which burrow through the Venusaur's body, exchanging nutrients with its tissues, transporting gametes, and receiving nerve signals.

Young Venusaur, commonly called Bulbasaur, are much smaller, and are a paler, greener color than adults, with patches of darker pigmentation. Their symbiotic plants are less mature, and the plant's external parts are only visible as a large bud emerging from the Bulbasaur's back.

Juvenile Venusaur are known as Ivysaur, and are distinguished from Bulbasaur by their larger size, bluer coloration, and more mature plant. They have 2-4 fronds, and their bud begins to turn red and open slightly. They may grow a small stem as Ivysaur.

**Range**: Venusaur are endemic to western Kanto, but their range is fractured. The woodlands between Viridian Forest and the Victory Mountains contain some remnant wild populations, but they are encountered most often in captivity.

**Habitat:** Venusaur inhabit dense woodland, especially favoring areas with numerous sunny clearings were they can bask.

**Call:** At all ages, Venusaur are capable of making a high screech call, which advertises its territory, and a low growl, which is used to intimidate threats. When intimidating rivals, it will often alternate screeches with growls in quick succession.

**Diet:** Due to their symbiotic plant, Venusaur need little food. One meal every month will suffice. They are often found basking in the sun, photosynthesizing to their heart's content from dawn until dusk, when they hunt.

At all life stages, Venusaur are ambush predators. They crouch on the ground, blending in with the undergrowth, and wait with their mouths open for anything edible to wander by. Bulbasaur are too small to eat most pokemon and photosynthesize less, so must eat insects and other small nonpokemon. Ivysaur are slightly larger, and feed mainly off Rattata, Weedle, and Caterpie, which they often have to wrestle into submission.

Venusaur are much more formidable predators, capable of swallowing Jigglypuff whole and devouring even Ekans. Indeed, there are few bite-sized pokemon that they will refuse. Only certain poisonous pokemon, such as Oddish and Nidoran, will be ignored by these carnivores.

Venusaur may show several unique behaviors when hunting. They have been seen to knock Pidgey out of the air with their vines as Ivysaur, and his behavior is remembered into their Venusaur stage, when they knock down Pidgeotto and even Fearow.

Occasionally while hunting, Venusaur may fire from its bud a small seed, actually a modified embryo, which quickly takes root in any flesh it encounters and becomes a parasite. The Venusaur will show remarkable patience, tracking any prey attacked this way for days until they collapse. They will then devour both seedling and prey indiscriminately.

**Life Cycle:** Venusaur have a complex and fascinating life cycle, which is thankfully well-studied. The flower is the Venusaur's reproductive organ, since Venusaur lack reproductive organs of the animal type. Tubes lead from Venusaur's gonads to the flower, where animal gametes bind with the plant gametes in pairs. These pairs are pollen grains in the male Venusaur, and reside in the ovary of the female.

During the mating season, Venusaur release an alluring scent, which attracts their main pollinator, Butterfree. Butterfree land on the Venusaur's flower, looking for the nectar within. They also collect pollen from the male, which sticks to hairs on the Butterfree's body. They then transport this pollen to the female, which absorbs the pollen into her ovary. Within a few days, her ovary swells and turns brown, eventually falling off. She will regenerate a new ovary by the following year.

Meanwhile, the fallen ovary continues to ripen, forming eight embryos inside, each in a separate compartment. Each Venusaur embryo contains two complete genomes, one for the Venusaur animal, and one for the symbiotic plant. As it develops, the plant tissues migrate to the embryo's dorsal surface, and take root in the developing Bulbasaur's tissues.

In about three weeks, the ovary opens, releasing eight tiny Bulbasaur. The siblings are well- developed, and can care for themselves from birth. As they grow, they unfurl fronds from the base of their bud, in order to absorb more sunlight. As their plant matures, Bulbasaur go through several growth spurts. An Ivysaur becoming an adult Venusaur can quadruple its weight in only a month!

Venusaur can live up to 45 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Despite their slow speed, the power, size, and disposition of Venusaur have made them exceedingly popular in the battle trade. Unfortunately for them, this means that their wild populations have been absolutely decimated. Only a few survive.

However, captive breeding of Venusaur has been wildly successful, with pokemon breeders taking the place of Butterfree. There are so many captive Bulbasaur that they are now given away as 'starter' pokemon to beginner trainers. Usually, males are given away, as females are more valuable for breeding.

Venusaur do not make as appealing pets as other pokemon species, but the ease of raising them has allowed them to spread throughout Kanto in captivity.

If you are lucky enough to encounter a Venusaur in the wild, do not try to capture it! Venusaur are endangered and federally protected, and taking one from the wild is punishable with a fine. Instead, please contact Project Bulb, the organization responsible for reintroducing captive Venusaur into suitable habitat.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Venusaur have few natural enemies, due to their size and poisonous flesh. Very young Bulbasaur have not yet accumulated enough poison in their tissues, and often fall prey to small predators such as Growlithe and Fearow, while larger, poison-resistant predators such as Nidoqueen/king might take down an Ivysaur. But overall, the species is resistant to predator attacks.

Venusaur are well known for their ability to control their vines. They can swiftly unfurl vines from the base of their plant using hydraulic pressure, and by flexing muscles on their back they can swing them from side to side. However, it can take them several minutes to retract their vines once they are extended.

Venusaur are very territorial, and on nights when they do not hunt they patrol their territories, screech-calling and scent-marking to warn away other Venusaur. The behavior lessens slightly in the winter, when they breed, but they are never tolerant of same-sex individuals in their territory. Thankfully, violent confrontations are rare, but this may be due to the sheer rarity of wild Venusaur. It is believed that the purpose of this territoriality is to prevent other Venusaur from encroaching on their basking areas.


	3. Hippocampus venenifer

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name:** Horsea, Tattu (Juvenile), Seadra (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Hippocampus venenifer_

**Description:** Seadra are medium-sized, strangely shaped fish pokemon. They measure 47 inches long when stretched out, but their tails are often coiled, making them appear smaller. Their bodies, instead of being horizontally inclined as a normal fish, hang vertically in the water. Their trunks are rigid, supported by bony plates underneath the skin that allow little flexibility. Their tails are long and prehensile, without a tail fin, while their heads have an extended, rigid tubular mouth. Seadra have three bony crests on their heads and spiked fins behind each eye, in front of the gills. Another set of fins reside on the trunk, with three pale tips equipped with spines. Their scales are pale blue in color, with a white underbelly and white eyes.

Young Seadra, called Horsea, look quite similar to the adults, but are far smaller (only 16 inches fully extended) and lack ridges on their heads. Their pectoral fins are round and simple, unlike the striking, indented ones of Seadra. Horsea eyes are red.

**Range:** Seadra are found all along Kanto's coastal seas, as well as in the Sevii Islands, Johto's Whirl Islands and some reefs off south-central Hoenn. They have also been introduced by careless trainers to a saltwater lake in northern Kanto, and have been deliberately released in the Northeastern Island of Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Seadra are generally reef pokemon, taking shelter in coral and holding onto it with their flexible tails. However, in some areas they have adapted to brackish water, as in Cerulean Cave, and to areas where there is no coral, but they do less well in such habitats. They require warm water, and in the Northeastern Island flock to the hot springs surrounding Stark Mountain.

**Call**: When threatened, Seadra are capable of squealing surprisingly loudly. They are otherwise silent.

**Diet:** Seadra feed off of small reef invertebrates and fish, sucking them in with their long snouts. Like most fish, they create a vacuum by rapidly opening their mouths, and a Seadra's extended jaws allow them to create a larger vacuum.

**Life Cycle:** Seadra do not have a breeding season, but rather pair off all year, whenever there is enough food around to support young. Females lay thousands of eggs on the male's belly, where he fertilizes them. They remain attached to him until they hatch, at which point he ignores them.

The larval Horsea float in the current, and many fall prey to other pokemon before they mature. However, there are so many of them that a few, at least, survive to adulthood.

Seadra live approximately 25 years

**Relationship with Humans: **Despite the Seadra's venomous fin spikes and bony body, Hoenn fishermen sometimes target them for the supposed medicinal properties of their bones. This belief applies only to adult Seadra, not Horsea, which in some areas creates a population imbalance where almost the entire population consists of juveniles. Stronger restrictions are needed to prevent a complete fishery collapse.

However, outside of fishing pressure in Hoenn, the Seadra population seems to be doing well. Their swift reproductive rate allows them to rebound fairly well from pressure from trainers, and they are not considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Like many sea dwelling pokemon, Seadra can squirt water at high pressure from their mouths, a behavior that seems to serve as a quick getaway mechanism when threatened, but is co-opted as an offensive weapon. Uniquely, Seadra can mix a dark ink with the water they squirt, clouding the water and preventing a predator from seeing them.

Unusually, Seadra's somatic cells mutate as they mature, and actually contain genes not found in Horsea's somatic cells. The reasons behind this is the subject of much genetic research.

If you see a Seadra, even a trained one, do not touch it! Seadra have spines on their heads and fins, and even a small prick with one is mind-blowingly painful. It is possible that compounds from this venom are responsible for the trade in medicinal Seadra.


	4. Deminautilus megoculi

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: The Boso Peninsula is a real place in Japan, in the (guess what) Kanto region.

I combined the Omastar and Omanyte chapters.

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**Common Name:** Omanyte, Omnite (juvenile) Omastar, Omstar (adult)

**Scientific Name: **_Deminautilus megoculi_

**Description: **Omastar is a large molluscan pokemon, adorned with a hard, 31-inch long spiral shell. This shell is off-white in color with clear growth rings and many spines along the shell's whorls. The soft inner body of the Omastar is light blue in color, with four thick, stubby tentacles surrounding its mouth and eyes. Six additional longer and thinner tentacles grow out from underneath the shell. Omastar's mouth is a beak with four mandibles, coming together to form an X-shaped bite. It is set in the center of the tentacles. Omastar's eyes are yellow with vertical pupils, and face forward. They move on their 'foot,' a powerful muscle that lies along their belly.

As juveniles, Omanyte are much smaller pokemon. Ten stubby blue tentacles poke out of a coiled, off white shell, measuring 16 inches long. Their eyes are large and white, with round pupils. Their gill siphon, which they use for jet propulsion, is usually concealed by the shell, but sometimes projects out.

**Range:** Omastar are known from only a few sites off the coast of the Boso Peninsula.

**Habitat:** Omastar live in at least 1000 feet of water, on the abyssal plain of the sea floor. Their habitat is a 'twilight zone' where there is too little light for a human to see, but more than enough for the Omastar's huge eyes.

Omanyte live in deep midwater (over 600 feet down), far from the surface and far from the bottom.

**Call:** Omastar are silent.

**Diet: **Omanyte shells are full of air pockets, which they use to maintain buoyancy at the correct depth. Due to this ability, they are able to migrate to the surface and back at night, hunting small invertebrates. They catch their prey with their tentacles, and crunch them with their beak.

As adults, Omastar are hunters of immobile creatures, dragging their six long tentacles in the sand for invertebrates. But sometimes, they take larger prey.

For many years, X-shaped scars on the shells of Cloyster suggested that Omastar hunted them, but until recently this had not been confirmed. It is now known that Omastar hunt deep-sea Cloyster, grasping them and holding them in place with their tentacles before chewing a hole in their shells, a process that takes hours. The Cloyster will struggle fiercely, and the Omastar must hang on tightly to the water-jetting bivalve or risk being stabbed with the prey pokemon's spines. However, one Cloyster provides food for weeks.

**Life Cycle:** Very little is known about Omastar breeding behavior in the wild, but in captivity they follow each other's mucus trails before mating, a squishy affair involving many tentacles getting in the way.

Omastar cast their eggs into the current as plankton. Their larvae do not have shells, but soon develop into miniature Omanyte. They grow slowly, and make a new growth layer on their shells each year. When they become Omastar, they grow spikes, and old spikes on the bottom wear off. By counting the spines and growth rings, scientists have determined that Omastar can live 70 years, and possibly more!

**Relationship with Humans:** Due to the difficulty of reaching Omastar in their natural habitat, few of these pokemon live in captivity. The few live specimens taken by submersible are under scientific study, but they may be trained like other pokemon. Their abundance is unknown.

**Naturalist's Notes:** The Omastar's shell holds its organs, as well as gas pockets that allow them to swim freely as Omanyte. However, as adults, their shell becomes too heavy for swimming, and they settle on the ocean floor.

When threatened, Omastar will withdraw their foot and smaller tentacles into their shell, and use their four larger tentacles to cover their face. Their spiked shell provides most of the protection they need, but if an attacker won't go away, they will actually use the shell as a weapon, rearing up and smacking the predator with it. They are also capable of spraying water from their siphon, and have been seen sucking up mud, which they then squirt in an attempt to blind their attacker.

Due to these defenses, Omastar's only real predators are Gorebyss, which can insert their proboscises into the armored mollusks' shells.

Omastar are believed to be a species that has remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. They are thus considered a 'living fossil,' and fossils similar to Omastar are routinely unearthed in Sinnoh, which has led scientists to believe that the region once lay underwater.


	5. Felifacies mephitis

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Stunky, Skunpu (juvenile), Skuntank, Skutank (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Felifacies mephitis_

**Description:** Skuntank are low-slung mammalian pokemon with dark puce fur. Their legs, face, belly, and the upperside of the tail are white. Their ears are triangular and perked, and their face is blunt and feline, with a ruff of fur around the cheeks, whiskers, and a soft pink nose. Skuntank can also be distinguished by the folds of pink, hairless skin under their eyes. Their tails are as long as their whole bodies, which measure 39 inches long and 14 inches at the shoulder. Skuntank have long claws, adapted for digging.

Juvenile Skuntank, or Stunky, are very similar to adults, but are smaller and lack the white on the face and legs.

**Range:** Skuntank are found in southern and central Sinnoh.

**Habitat**: Skuntank live in foothill woodlands full of evergreens, favoring rich soils and deep shade. They generally dislike both flatlands and high alpine peaks.

**Call:** Skuntank make a chirping, mewling call that seems quite out of place from a creature their size. Before spraying, they make a gargling noise.

**Diet:** Skuntank are carnivores, eating mostly Wurmple, Bidoof, and Kricketot, which they unearth from their burrows by digging with their long claws. Stunky feed on insects.

**Life Cycle:** After breeding in the early spring, female Skuntank lay 4-5 soft, leathery eggs, which she keeps in her den and protects ferociously. After hatching, the baby Stunky are helpless, and are not able to leave the den for several weeks. When they do, they stick close to their mother, following her in a line of pudgy, fluffy kits. When they reach a nose-to-tail length of 30 inches their mother evicts them from the den. Stunky attain their adult coloration by their third year, and live 16 years.

Stunky do not hibernate, though in winter they often only come out of their dens to hunt.

**Relationship with Humans:** Skuntank are generally reviled for their foul defensive mechanism, and are not often kept domestically. In the battle trade Skuntank are considered more annoying than powerful, as their stink can last for weeks. In designated open space areas Skuntank populations are still healthy, but deforestation has caused a decline. They are not considered endangered.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Skuntank are best known for their defensive chemicals, which can be sprayed powerfully on predators up to 160 feet away. When threatened, they fold their tail over their backs and lift their hind leg, a clear threat. If their attacker does not retreat, it will spray a scent so foul it has caused retching, burning noses, and even eye damage. Young Stunky have a spray just as powerful as adults, though they cannot spray as far, and often do a handstand to get a better range, shifting their weight onto their front paws.

Interestingly, Skuntank seem to be able to vary the chemical composition of their spray, depending on the severity of the situation. They are even able to make the spray react to oxygen by catching fire, an extremely dangerous technique, both for the Skuntank and for its opponent!

Stunky are eaten by few creatures, but Staraptor will occasionally attempt it, to varying degrees of success.


	6. Petraserpens palacolli

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Onix, Iwark

**Scientific Name:** _Petraserpens palacolli_

**Description:** Onix is a truly impressive pokemon, an armored serpent measuring 29 feet long and 3½ feet thick in the middle. Dull gray in color, Onix have 11-13 armor plates on their bodies, giving them a segmented appearance. Their eyes are the size of dinner plates, and set deep into a broad, shovel-like head. Males have a large erectable crest on their heads, which when fully raised measures 2½ feet long and otherwise lies flat along the Onix's body. Females have a smaller crest. Onix have dozens of small, conical teeth.

Onix can rear the front of their bodies up to 8 feet in the air.

**Range:** Onix were once found throughout Johto, Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. Today, they are mainly found in highlands and mountain ranges, such as the Victory Mountains of Sinnoh and Kanto and the Wayward Caves. They are completely extinct in Hoenn. _Petraserpens palacolli seviiensis, _a dwarf subspecies, are also found on Quest Island in the Sevii archipelago.

**Habitat:** Onix like any dry, rocky habitat, although they do not like straight deserts. They dislike moisture in the soil, and always burrow above the water table.

Onix will also inhabit manmade tunnels, such as abandoned mines and subway tunnels.

**Call:** Onix make a deep, honking roar during the mating season and when defending their territory. It is a remarkable sound, and causes most other pokemon to freeze in their tracks. They may also communicate subsonically, rumbling beneath the ground to transmit messages across long distances.

**Diet:** Onix are ambush predators, waiting beneath the ground and using sensitive vibration sensors in their crests to detect the movement of prey above. They then burst from the ground, raising their upper bodies and snapping up the unfortunate victim.

The favorite prey of Onix are Graveler, which they smash against the ground to crack before eating. They will also eat Machoke, Machamp, Medicham, or most any other pokemon they can swallow. They devour their prey whole, not bothering to tear it up or chew.

**Life Cycle:** The crashing and roaring of male Onix fighting can be heard from a mile away, as the gargantuan pokemon rear to size each other up, erect their crests, and ram each other with tree-toppling force. These battles determine the edges of their territories, and the rights to all the females within.

Once a male is victorious, the loser must slink off to nurse his wounds, and the victor courts the females within, nuzzling, nudging, and grumbling until they submit. Due to the female's equal size, he rarely uses force, although frustrated young males have been seen taking their emotions out by smashing trees and boulders.

Onix lay 2-4 football sized, oblong eggs, which the female cares for, coiling her body about them. The baby Onix that hatch out are small and light-colored, and usually stay within their parents' tunnels hunting small pokemon until they reach 18 feet in length, at which point they become competitors with their parents and must leave. Females have an easy time of it, settling wherever there is enough prey to support them, but males must battle the dominant male if he wants to settle down. Young male Onix are the ones that venture into marginal habitat such as woodlands, farms, and towns, looking for a place to live. Unfortunately, doing so often gets them in trouble with humans.

Onix are extraordinarily long lived, and may survive for 70 years or more.

**Relationship with Humans:** Although not as heavily pursued for the battle trade as their relatives the Steelix, Onix are considered by some trainers to be a status symbol, due to their sheer size and wildness.

Onix were once considered pests in dry lowland areas, digging up public works and creating huge pits in the ground. They were thusly exterminated, and today can only be found in the mountains and other uninhabited areas. There is concern that they may be declining due to disturbances from trainers.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Onix are a vital part of the ecosystem, altering it over vast tracts of their range. They dig immense, multi acre-spanning networks of tunnels, riddling the mountains like wormholes. They are believed to be responsible for the majority of cave systems in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, providing not only passage for humans but habitat for multitudes of pokemon species.

Onix dig with their broad, shovel-shaped heads, scooping with their chins and packing the earth down. They inhabit the same tunnels their entire adult lives, and generations of Onix can inhabit the same tunnel system. However, at one time only one male and a handful of females inhabit a territory.

It is believed that Onix navigate within their tunnels using an internal compass, orienting to their home territory even when they are brought into captivity.


	7. Ferraserpens maximus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Steelix, Haganeil

**Scientific Name:** _Ferraserpens maximus_

**Description:** The sight of a Steelix is not one that is easily forgotten. They are well known for being the largest land-dwelling pokemon, and the second largest pokemon in all the known regions. Large specimens can reach over 30 feet in length, measure 3 feet wide in the middle, and can rear their heads 9 feet into the air!

Steelix are serpentine and dull grey in color, with 7-9 segments of bony armor all along their body. Steelix's head is heavy, with an immense jaw armed with flat, block-like teeth. Their fierce red eyes are proportionally small, and sunken deep in their heads. Male Steelix have two fangs erupting from each side of the lower jaw, while females have one. Steelix's lower jaws have four bony flanges coming off the sides, which are mirrored by two small crests on the top of the head.

The tip of Steelix's tail is armored, and sharpens into a spine. Along their sides, Steelix have three pairs of spike-like extensions of their armor, poking out to either side like wings. These are believed to aid in locomotion.

**Range:** Steelix are native to most of Sinnoh, though their range today is highly diminished. They have been introduced to Johto, near Mt. Silver and in the Cliff Caves, where they are increasing in population.

**Habitat:** Steelix like hard, rocky substrates into which they can dig. They generally live in relatively dry upland areas, and are not tolerant of moisture. They have been found deeper underground than any other pokemon.

**Call:** When irritated, Steelix let out a low, rough roar. They may also communicate subsonically.

**Diet:** Steelix are generalist predators, hunting anything that comes into their tunnels. They mostly stay below ground to feed, but have been observed to lie in wait below the surface of the earth and ambush prey as well, much like their relatives the Onix. Steelix are well-known for eating Onix, mostly juveniles, and will brazenly break into Onix tunnels in search for the young. Steelix have also been known to kill and eat humans.

Steelix can go a long time between meals, simply staying still and feeling vibrations in their tunnels until something edible wanders up.

**Life Cycle:** Steelix have well-defined territories, and they will object strongly to the intrusion of another Steelix. Only in the mating season will females allow males into her territory. Steelix do not display the aboveground, clashing battles that Onix do, but males may occasionally fight underground, causing tremors strong enough to be picked up by nearby seismographs.

Female Steelix lay a clutch of eggs the size of basketballs in a dry, cool location, and leave them there. The hatchlings hunt within their mother's tunnels until they grow large enough to be competition, at which point she will chase them out.

Steelix that avoid being killed by other Steelix long enough to get their own territories can live a long time, some topping more than a century.

**Relationship with Humans:** It is no surprise, given Steelix's strength and size, that it is popular in the battling industry. Collecting, as well as simple extermination due to perceived danger to the public, has decimated this pokemon's wild populations. They are currently found only on Iron Island, Victory Island, and near Snowpoint.

Steelix are common in captivity, however, and have recently been spotted in Johto, apparently accidental introductions. These populations are increasing, and there is some concern about their impact on the local Onix populations.

On an anthropological note, Steelix armor was used by ancient peoples as a building material and to make tools.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Like Onix, Steelix dig extensive tunnels through mountains, making seemingly solid formations into something like holey cheese. However, while Onix tunnels are generally fairly shallow, Steelix tunnels can go extremely deep. The reason for such deep tunneling is unknown, but it may have to do with protection from other Steelix. Regardless of the reason for the depth of these tunnels, other pokemon will inhabit them, especially in winter, when they take shelter from the cold. Thus, through digging, Steelix supply themselves with food.


	8. Gelatoriavis haliaeetus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**A/N**: Anyone may use any of the ideas in this guide for their own stories. Please credit, though.

**Common Name:** Articuno, Freezer

**Scientific Name:** _Gelatoriavis haliaeetus_

**Description:** Articuno is a large and beautiful raptor, truly magnificent to see. The feathers of the male are shimmering sky blue, with a cobalt blue, three-pronged crest and streaming tail. The female is much less impressive, with a much shorter tail and a duller, grey-blue coloration. The breast of an Articuno has long white plumes, while the hooked bill and legs are slate gray. They have four toes equipped with long talons, and intense, reddish brown eyes. Articuno males are 11 ½ feet long while females measure 6 feet, the difference being the male's exquisite tail. Both sexes stand 5 ½ feet tall when perched, and have a wingspan of 18 feet.

**Range**: Articuno were once found all along freshwater and saltwater coastlines in Kanto, but their range today is restricted to the Seafoam Islands.

**Habitat:** Articuno are coastal birds, and are fond of sea-cliffs and other harsh environments where they can safely nest. They especially prize conifer forests along the coast for the excellent perches they afford.

**Call: **Male Articuno have a beautiful song, consisting of two held notes. The song can carry long distances over the waves, and is used by males during breeding displays. Females are quieter, but will make a low 'burp' or 'honk' call to keep in touch with her young.

**Diet:** Articuno are hunters, and ply the waters of Kanto for aquatic prey. They take mostly nonpokemon fish, but may also hunt small pokemon such as Magikarp, Goldeen, and Seel. They capture their prey at the surface with a steep dive, which they then take back to a perch and bone with their hooked beak before eating.

Male Articuno, due to their long tails, are often poorer hunters than females. They are thus are more likely to scavenge to survive.

**Life Cycle:** Articuno breed in the early spring, when the male displays wildly to any female in sight. Displays consist of song, stooping flights, and much wagging of the extravagant tail. Studies of Articuno in the wild seem to suggest that a longer tail correlates with breeding success, and the males seem to know it. A hovering male will literally shove his tail into the poor female's face!

The female Articuno becomes pregnant and gestates 1-2 chicks inside her body for 10 weeks before giving live birth. The completely-helpless chicks live in a large stick nest on a cliff ledge, and both the male and the female care for the hatchling until the end of summer, when it fledges. After the breeding season, males and females separate, and the male must be attract and display to a female all over again the next year.

Juvenile Articuno often resemble females, but have a mottled dark plumage on their flight feathers. They do not gain the adult crest and tail until they are five years old.

Articuno live about 30 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** The people of Kanto love Articuno. The beauty and power of these birds is legendary, and the pokemon themselves are often featured in works of art throughout the region. However, the Articuno themselves have not benefited from this popularity, and over harvesting for the battle trade, along with coastal development and the now-outlawed trade in their tail feathers, have reduced wild Articuno to a tiny fraction of their original range.

Unfortunately, Articuno have never bred successfully in captivity, so protecting their last stronghold in the Seafoam Islands is critical. Thankfully, restrictions on capturing have been put into place. Articuno may only be taken during the nonbreeding season, a limited number of permits are available, and only males may be taken. _All females seen in captivity are illegally captured, and should be reported!_

Articuno were not always treated in such a way. Ancient peoples worshipped Articuno, and considered it the bringer of winter. Interestingly, many myths related to Articuno take place in the mountains, far away from their coastal homes! One possible explanation may be that Articuno were once found along alpine lakes, but it is also possible that people from the coasts traded with inland tribes, and traded myths as well.

**Naturalist's Notes**: Articuno are capable of causing water to condense out of the air and freeze, using a combination of potently endothermic chemicals sprayed from a throat gland. The shock of the cold is generally enough to startle and frighten away attackers. A trained Articuno can focus the created ice into beams, sprays, etc, but in the wild the ice usually forms as a cloud.


	9. TiPB: Psychics

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Topics in pokemon biology: Psychics**

Controversial in the arena and in the echelons of universities, psychic phenomena are the subject of great debate. What is psychic power? Where does it come from? What are its limits? What laws restrain it?

The power of the mind, according to the latest theories, evolved from the ability to generate electrical currents at will. These currents, complexly and subtly applied, can affect the nerves of other living beings, creating hallucinations, causing sleep, reading their thoughts, and predicting their movements. Psychics can also produce force directly from their thoughts, and apply that energy directly in different forms, either offensively or aimed downward, causing levitation. Some are even able to warp space-time with careful applications of energy. Many different unrelated pokemon can use such abilities, including shellfish, birds, entomon, and mammals. It is even theorized that all pokemon have some degree of psychic ability, which would explain the high degree of energy manipulation that many pokemon exhibit.

Psychic pokemon are also renowned for escaping from their pokeballs, and a psychic-proof pokeball has not yet been invented. The reasons for this are unknown, but the psychics may be able to manipulate the delicate machinery of a pokeball much as they manipulate the nerves of other pokemon. This could have broad implications for the study of pokemon such as Rotom.

Some trainers of psychic pokemon claim that they can 'read' and even experience the feelings of their pokemon, a truly remarkable statement and one that needs to be examined further.

Perhaps a first-hand account is in order, as often one needs to truly experience psychic phenomena to understand them:

_I never really believed what they say about psychics. Pokemon are pokemon, and though I'd never owned a psychic before, I thought I could handle it. So when I caught a Meditite, I didn't think anything of it. I thought it would be a good addition to my team, that's all. _

_He was a cute little guy, all arms and legs. And he had these big, soulful eyes. I liked him right away, and gave him lots of attention. He fought alongside my other pokes pretty well, and we got some great wins._

_I don't know when things started to change. I think it was so subtle, I hardly noticed it. It was like, I would feed him, and I would just feel good about it, like I'd given myself a treat. And when he would get hurt, I would feel this… stinging._

_Then it started getting more powerful. When he was happy, I was happy, and when he was upset, I was upset. When he ate, I actually felt full. And when he got hurt? It was like I was the one getting electrocuted or bitten. I eventually had to retire him, it was that bad. I couldn't battle with him anymore, it was just too painful. _

This account is extreme, but is not unheard-of. Not all psychic owners have reported a mental connection with their pokemon, but about 20% claim some degree of synchronization.


	10. Squamepinna arcanalingua

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Entomic = From Greek for 'insect.'

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Common Name:** Caterpie (larva), Metapod, Trancell (chrysalis), Butterfree (adult)

**Scientific Name**: _Squamepinna arcanalingua_

**Description:** Butterfree are large entomic pokemon, their bodies measuring 43 inches long with an impressive 96-inch wingspan. Their bodies are soft and dull purple in color, and covered with tiny hairs. They have two large red compound eyes, two black antennae with club tips, and a set of complex mouthparts, which consist of a light blue cover, two small, white mandibles, and a coiled proboscis underneath the cover. A Butterfree's front legs are atrophied, reduced to a pair of clawed hooks for perching, while their hind legs are long and slender. Both sets of limbs are light blue in color.

The Butterfree's most striking features are its four large wings, which are white with black edges and veining. Female Butterfree have a black spot on their lower wings.

Butterfree larva, called Caterpie, could not look more different from the adults. They have no wings, and rather are small, segmented, and wormlike, with four sucker-like legs. Caterpie are light green in color, with two yellow rings on each body segment and two large black eye spots. Their actual eyes are small and compound, and they have a hefty set of fold-out mandibles. Their last segment has a small, fleshy, upturned 'tail,' which may serve to draw attack away from the head.

Caterpie range in size from a few inches to two feet, at which point they become a chrysalis, or Metapod. These are crescent shaped with a hard green exoskeleton. Metapod have three ridges on their anterior end, which help camouflage the pokemon as a large leaf. Like Caterpie, Metapod have eyespots. Metapod are nearly immobile, although if they are disturbed they may twitch.

**Range:** Butterfree are found throughout northern Kanto, with a more scattered range in Johto. They are also found on Pattern Bush Island, where they likely blew over in a storm.

**Habitat:** Butterfree will live in most any semitropical woodland, where they make their homes in trees and large shrubs.

**Call: **Butterfree and Caterpie are both capable of extremely high-pitched squeaking, and Butterfree make a 'whinny' call when pursuing mates. Metapod may make a low buzzing sound by rasping their exoskeleton plates together.

**Diet:** Butterfree feed off of nectar from flowers and tree sap. Due to their atrophied limbs, they can only perch vertically, and most Butterfree-pollinated flowers have openings from below that allow the Butterfree to perch on the stem. When flowers are not in bloom, Butterfree feed off tree sap, chewing the bark off with their mandibles before lapping it up with their proboscis. However, this type of feeding can damage their mandibles, so they are not averse to the chewing being done for them. Butterfree will often follow Heracross and Pinsir in hopes of feeding from the gashes they open on trees.

As Caterpie, these pokemon have a completely different diet. They feed off almost every kind of broadleaf tree, and during population explosions will defoliate whole forests. Thankfully, this behavior stops when they become Metapod, which do not eat at all.

**Life Cycle:** Butterfree generally mate with other Butterfree in their forest, the male chasing the female in circles and whinnying until she allows him to mate. However, about once every nine years, Butterfree go through population explosions. During this period they migrate.

It is unknown how a pokemon that has never seen the ocean knows which way the sea lies, but they do, and thousands of Butterfree fly to the shore, wheeling, mating, and flying off again, back to the forests where they started. It is believed that this behavior is designed to allow for greater genetic variation in the Butterfree population, but why it takes place only in boom years is unknown. Perhaps, due to the danger inherent in the migration, the Butterfree can only afford to migrate when there are enough of them to spare?

Butterfree select a large, healthy-looking tree on which to lay their eggs, and lay several clutches of 12-15 eggs each. They then abandon their young, which hatch in a week and make a first meal of their eggshells. The Caterpie then eat, shed their skin and grow until they reach two feet in length, when they shed their skin one last time and become a Metapod. Metapod take four months to mature, and usually do so over the mild KanJoh winter, hiding in the leaf litter. When they emerge as Butterfree, their wings are wrinkled, and they need to wait for them to expand and dry for several hours before they can fly.

Butterfree are short-lived, and are lucky to reach 3 years of age.

**Relationship with Humans:** In all the places they are found, Caterpie are extremely common, and in fact will flourish in any suitable environment. Butterfree adults are less abundant than their larvae, but even so are common sights in Kanto, fluttering above the trees and searching for flowers. They are not endangered, even though they are often caught by beginning trainers.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Butterfree are not considered aggressive pokemon, but they still demand caution, as all wild pokemon do. When threatened, they will flap their wings, dislodging their wing scales. These scales are irritating when inhaled, and can cause temporary blindness if they lodge in the eye. Butterfree also have some psychic ability, capable of causing disorientation and hallucination in any threat, including hallucinations of pain.

Caterpie are capable of extending a bright red, forked 'tongue' from their forehead, which releases several foul-smelling compounds. This defense is in addition to the propulsive spitting of sticky, silken thread, which can glue a predator's mouth shut.

Caterpie are important prey items for many predatory pokemon, from Pidgeotto and Fearow to Nidorino and Ariados. Butterfree are often preyed upon by Beedrill.

Butterfree are critical pollinators of Venusaur, and without them wild Venusaur cannot reproduce.


	11. Arctoecuculus meliphoros

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Teddiursa, Himeguma (juvenile) Ursaring, Ringuma (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Arctoecuculus meliphoros_

**Description:** Ursaring are large mammalian pokemon, covered in shaggy brown fur, with a lighter, blunt muzzle and a beige ring on their abdomen. Ursaring have very long claws and sharp teeth, small rounded ears, and a shaggy 'mane' of fur around the shoulders, which is thicker in males than in females. They have a short, fluffy tail. Though they often walk on four legs, Ursaring are capable of standing on two, and are often trained to fight in this bipedal stance. Ursaring, fully erect, stand nearly 6 feet tall, and when on all fours are 34 inches high at the shoulder.

Juveniles, Teddiursa, have a charming, babyish appearance, with large dark eyes and big ears. They lack the beige ring, and instead have a light crescent mark on their foreheads, always facing right.

**Range:** Ursaring are only found in the mountains of eastern Johto, though they were once found in Kanto as well as much of lowland Johto.

**Habitat:** Ursaring can live in almost any kind of woodland, from alpine conifer forests to semitropical jungles. They require a great deal of acreage for their territories, sometimes over one hundred acres for one individual! In winter, they will take shelter in abandoned Onix tunnels.

**Call**: Teddiursa's high-pitched whine is well known in popular culture, with such sayings as "stop tedding" and "you're making a Teddiursa of yourself." And indeed, young Teddiursa will whine at their parents for food almost nonstop, a habit that captive Teddiursa often carry into adolescence and even adulthood.

Ursaring let out a throaty roar as a warning when aggravated. Don't ignore it, for it means an attack is imminent.

**Diet:** Ursaring are omnivores, just as happy to munch honey, fruit, and nuts as to raid Sentret burrows, fish for Magikarp, and even hunt down Donphan! They cache food underground for the winter, and have an excellent sense of smell, which they use to find their buried larders.

**Life Cycle:** Ursaring are almost entirely solitary, and only mothers with young travel together. However, during the fall mating season, males are drawn to females by their scent, and a mated pair may remain together for a few days before parting.

Female Ursaring dig a den, and lay two eggs within, which they incubate over the winter, living off of food stored nearby. After the cubs hatch they remain within the den for a month, nursing from their mother, after which time they may accompany her as she forages. They stay with their mother for two years, learning about the various sources of food in the forest, then leave.

Ursaring can live 30 years

**Relationship with Humans**: Ursaring have a very rocky relationship with humans. Due to their omnivorous tendencies and flexibility, they adapt well to a garbage-eating, crop-scavenging, pet-killing lifestyle. As a result, they are considered pests in most places, and in the past were exterminated accordingly. Nowadays, capturing Ursaring and selling them at auction for the battle trade is more common. The Blackthorn Mountains are their main stronghold, and there are cursory protections for them in place.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Teddiursa are well known for sucking their paws, although this is almost entirely a result of captivity. Teddiursa are often sold very young, before they would naturally wean, and they turn to paw-sucking as a replacement for nursing.


	12. Petrosus pullulo

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Geodude, Isitsubute (juvenile), Graveler, Golon (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Petrosus pullulo_

**Description:** A Graveler's camouflage is extraordinary. Standing 39 inches tall, these hunched-over reptilians have a sunken-in head with little neck, and when perfectly still they resemble nothing so much as a boulder. Their skulls have a 'frill' of six ridges, and their thick hide is studded with bony, projecting nodes. They are hexapods, with two legs, two arms, and one very long set of limbs that can function as either. Graveler often keep their limbs tucked beneath them, to enhance their camouflage. Each set of limbs sports three digits and claws. Graveler can be one of varying shades of gray, with a wide mouth full of stubby teeth.

Juvenile Graveler, or Geodude, are similar looking to adults, though they are much smaller (average 20 inches tall) and only have one sprawling set of limbs, which they use as legs and which later become the adult arms.

**Range**: Graveler are found throughout Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, in any suitable habitat.

**Habitat:** Graveler inhabit dry, rocky scrublands and mountains, needing only sparse vegetation to survive. They often shelter in old Onix tunnels, despite the obvious danger the large predators present.

**Call:** Graveler make a low, trumpeting call, as well as a variety of grunts and groans.

**Diet:** Graveler are herbivores, making a meager living off of grasses, lichens, and mosses, which they scrape off of rocks with their blunt, peglike teeth. They also swallow rocks to aid digestion, which has led to the misconception that they live off of rocks.

Graveler can climb up surprisingly steep slopes, clinging on with two pairs of limbs while foraging for food with the third.

**Life Cycle:** In the spring, Graveler males compete for females in shoving matches, each using their frills to try to topple the other. A victor will then pound the ground, throw rocks, and generally make a scene to advertise his robustness. If the female is impressed, they will mate.

A bit later, Graveler females dig a hole in which to lay about ten eggs, which take several weeks to hatch. The hatchlings dig their way out and care for themselves. As the Geodude grow, they sprout new limbs from internal limb buds, which develop over a period of several weeks.

If they are not eaten, Graveler can live for 25 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Graveler are not particularly prized in the arena, so have become the dominant life form in many mountainous areas. Fields of Geodude are a common sight in alpine meadows. They are not threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Graveler are an important prey item for Onix and Aggron, but few other predators can break through their tough skin. Palkia also feed on Graveler occasionally, but they are not their primary prey item. Geodude fall prey to Salamence, Tyranitar, and Charizard, amongst others.

Graveler and Geodude rely mostly on their camouflage and tough skin for protection, and if they are threatened will curl into a ball and allow themselves to roll downhill, away from danger.


	13. Myriotonos saxum

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name:** Golem, Golonya

**Scientific Name:** _Myriotonos saxum_

**Description:** Golem are large, reptilian pokemon, standing 55 inches tall on two legs, though they may also walk on all fours. They have a dark grey, almost spherical shell with the thick limbs and head a lighter brown. The shell is covered with large, irregular, dark-edged scutes, and the rest of the body has finer scales. They have four toes and three fingers, all tipped with claws, and a false 'fifth toe' that points backwards, actually an extension of the heel bone.

The Golem's head juts forward at almost the same level as the arms, and its spine arcs above its head. Its eyes are red, and it has blunt, conical teeth.

**Range:** Golem have a very small, fractured range, living in Kanto and Johto's northern mountain ranges.

**Habitat**: Golem live in high alpine regions.

**Call:** Golem make a throaty, grunting roar, as well as 'burps' during the mating season.

**Diet:** Golem are herbivores, chewing up underbrush, grasses, and wildflowers.

**Life Cycle:** The most important resource for Golem males is a good territory, which will support many females. They mark their territories with a fascinating 'rolling' behavior, tucking their limbs into their shells until their bodies are a rough sphere, then rolling down the mountain side. They will do this over and over, until their bodies have worn a deep groove into the earth. This not only sends a clear message to rival about their size and strength, but also advertises to females that they have the free time and resources to take part in such a repetitive and energy-intensive activity.

During spring, Golem males mate with any females in their territory, courting them by burping (very sexy) and nudging them relentlessly. The females are similarly promiscuous, and will often 'tour' territories, looking for the best male. Males attempt to prevent females from mating with other males by 'guarding' her, but she often gives him the slip.

After a week, the female digs a scrape in which she lays her 8-10 eggs. She piles earth on top of them and leaves them to hatch on their own. The young Golem hatch in two months, and dig their way out of the nest before dispersing. As they grow, Golem must shed their shells, which are not attached to their skeletons but are rather composed of scutes set in their skin. They emerge pale and soft, and often take refuge in caves and old Onix tunnels as their shell hardens. Golem take up to ten years to reach adult size.

Golem can live to be up to 67 years old, and possibly longer.

**Relationship with Humans:** In past years, Golem, due to their great defense, were often caught for the arena, though in today's battle trade faster pokemon are more popular. Golem are making a slow comeback, but mining and timber harvesting still threaten their habitats. They are considered threatened, and may not be captured on public lands.

On the other hand, in remote areas where Golem are still common, it is not unusual for these creatures to be considered pests, knocking down trees and destroying buildings as they mark their territories by rolling. They are often dealt with by building trenches to divert them away from structures, but this of course interferes with their marking, and causes a higher rate of territorial confrontation.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Though few predators will bother trying to chew through the shell of an adult Golem, young Golem are very vulnerable, especially as they shed their shells. They often tuck in their limbs to resemble piles of stones when they sense the slightest disturbance. Charizard, Onix, and Moltres may eat them.


	14. Tergoris unicorni

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Rhyhorn, Saihorn

**Scientific Name:** _Tergoris unicorni_

**Description: **Rhyhorn are thickset mammo-reptiles, plated with bone armor and very aggressive. They have thick, triangular skulls, which are equipped with a single, short horn, longer on the males. Bony plates cover all parts of Rhyhorn's body except for the underbelly, throat, and inside of the legs, and even the red eyes are set deep in their sockets. Their four legs each have two heavily clawed toes. Rhyhorn lack teeth in the front, having only a bony beak, and the teeth in the back are stubby and flat, with the exception of extended canines in males. Rhyhorn measure 39 inches long, and are 23 inches at the shoulder.

**Range:** Rhyhorn are found in scattered locations in eastern Kanto, though they were once more widespread. Rhyhorn have been introduced into Sinnoh's northeastern island and Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Rhyhorn live in open savannah and prairie with scattered scrublands, pushing through the thick grass with their broad heads.

**Call:** Rhyhorn let out a low growl before charging, and make a loud 'ee-yaw' during the mating season.

**Diet:** Rhyhorn are herbivores, clipping off tough grasses and herbs with their beaks.

**Life Cycle:** During the mating season, Rhyhorn males fight over females, shoving each other with their horns and slashing with their canines. The males can become quite seriously injured in these contests, which end with the victor mating with all the females in the area.

Rhyhorn females lay 2-3 eggs in sandy depressions, which they guard. When the calves hatch, they follow the mother around. She regurgitates food for her calves until they are two months old, at which point they switch to solid plant matter. Eventually, the calves separate and go their own way.

Rhyhorn live about 20 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Rhyhorn have suffered greatly from habitat destruction, as prairies are converted into farms. Wild Rhyhorn are currently found in Kanto's Safari Zone and on the Cerulean Cape. The battle trade has wiped them out in other open areas.

On the other hand, Rhyhorn, along with many other Kanto species, have been introduced to the Northeastern Island of Sinnoh, where they seem to be flourishing despite the cold weather. Like many introduced Pokemon, during the winter they flock to the warm springs created by Stark Mountain. In Hoenn, the introduced Rhydon are contained in the Safari Zone reserve for the capturing by trainers.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Rhyhorn's aggressive nature is well known, and they instinctively charge anything they perceive as a threat. They have poor vision, and charge at swift movement. If you encounter one in the wild, move slowly and stay low to the ground to prevent charging.

Kangaskhan, Arcanine, and Charmeleon will hunt Rhyhorn, although they are not the favored prey of these predators.


	15. Dicerosaurus terebratus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**A/N:** Rozonkomo, I would love to discuss and trade ideas with you, but I need a way to contact you! Feel free to PM me.

**Common Name: **Rhydon, Saidon

**Scientific Name:** _Dicerosaurus terebratus_

**Description:** Rhydon are huge, powerful mammo-reptiles, heavily armored and immensely strong. They stand 6 feet tall on two legs, with a nose- tail length of over 12 feet. Rhydon have two horns, a shorter one in the center of their forehead and a longer one on their nose. The nose horn can be over a foot long in males, but are smaller in females. Rhydon have two external ears and a bony frill on their cheeks, behind their red eyes.

Bony armor plates cover a Rhydon's upper body and tail, and it has a triangular scales in a ridge down its back. It has three fingers and two toes. Rhydon are slate grey, with a beige underbelly. There are two projecting canines in the males.

**Range:** Rhydon are native to northern Kanto, and have been introduced to the Northeastern Island of Sinnoh.

**Habitat**: Rhydon are found in high-altitude, conifer forests.

**Call:** Rhydon call with a distinctive, low, _aaaaaa-uhhhhhgng-aaaa. _They also have a higher, _hee-haw_ cry.

**Diet:** Despite their fearsome appearance, Rhydon are browsers, eating huge quantities of nearly inedible conifer needles and cones to survive. They shear off the tough vegetation with their front teeth and chew with their massive rear ones. They use their arms to pull down boughs that are out of reach.

**Life Cycle:** Although they are surprisingly calm and peaceable for most of the year, during the breeding season Rhydon become extremely aggressive. Males fight with their horns and fangs in violent encounters, charging and shoving each other mercilessly. Older males are often covered with the scars from such battles.

Female Rhydon lay two eggs in mid-spring, and her calves loyally follow her everywhere. Their armor does not harden completely for several months, and they are very vulnerable to predators such as Charizard. They leave after a year, and reach maturity within two more.

Rhydon are long-lived, and may survive 60 years or more.

**Relationship with Humans:** Due to their size and strength, Rhydon are often caught for the arena, and have a severely fractured range. Rhydon are under federal protection, and the Victory Mountains and the hills of the Cerulean Cape are the only places where capturing is permitted.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Rhydon have few predators. Charizard are an occasional threat, but usually these flying predators take only very young Rhydon. Young may also fall prey to Onix.

Because Rhydon are more adapted to colder climates, they have done very well on the Northeastern Island. So well, in fact, that some biologists worry that they will swim to mainland Sinnoh, possibly causing problems for the native pokemon. Whether this will come to pass remains to be seen.


	16. Dicerosaurus longaeulnas

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Edited from its original version

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**Common Name:** Rhyperior, Dosidon

**Scientific Name:** _Dicerosaurus longaeulnas_

**Description:** Rhyperior is a truly awesome pokemon to behold. Standing over 7 feet tall, measuring almost 17 feet from nose to tail, and heavily armored, these creatures are not to be trifled with!

Rhyperior stand on four legs, though they rear onto their hind legs when agitated. These pokemon have a thick tail ending in a large, bony club. Their bodies are deep and barrel-like, and their arms are powerful, with a long, bony shaft extending from their elbows, formed by an extension of the ulna, a bone in the arm. This shaft attaches to a tough membrane that stretches from the ulna to the forearm. Rhyperior have two horns, one extending out from the forehead (4 inches in females and 7 in males), and the other from the nose (two feet in both sexes!). Six short fangs extend from the upper jaw. The species has three fingers and two toes, all with thick nails.

Rhyperior have thick, medium-taupe skin and red eyes, with bony orange scutes on the top of the head, above the eyes, in the upper-middle back, above the shoulders, around the knee caps, and in an unusual 'belt' around the waist. The ulnar membrane and the groin are orange as well. Rhyperior's throat is pale grey, and is unarmored.

Perhaps Rhyperior's most unusual anatomical feature is the ulnar pouch, which lies in the hollow ulnar shaft and the membrane, and opens below the palm of the Rhyperior's hand.

**Range:** Rhyperior were once found throughout mountainous regions of Sinnoh, but today are only found in the Sinnoh Victory Mountains.

**Habitat:** Rhyperior live in conifer forests high on mountain slopes.

**Call:** Rhyperior, when angered, let out a truly terrifying roar. They may also make low grunts and growls.

**Diet:** Despite their very fearsome appearance, Rhyperior are herbivores, like their relatives the Rhydon. They feed off of tough conifer needles and bark, and spend much of their time simply digesting this low-nutrient fare.

**Life Cycle:** Rhyperior are much calmer in disposition than their relatives, possibly because of the deadliness of their weapons. If they fought whenever they met each other, they would run a large risk of killing each other. As a result, they have developed a method of reducing violent confrontations.

The ulnar pouch, which is in the Rhyperior's forearm, is full of scent glands. Rhyperior, when they mark their territory, stuff this pouch with cobble-sized rocks, impregnating the stones with their scent. They may carry rocks in their pouches for some time, then go to the boundaries of their territory and eject the rocks with powerful muscle contractions. The rocks Rhyperior shoot from their hands this way can travel over 20 feet, and are scattered liberally at the edges of the pokemon's territory. This creates an effective 'scent barrier' against other Rhyperior.

In the rare case where a Rhyperior will ignore this boundary, the disagreement is often settled with a simple comparison of size, without the shoving, charging, and biting seen in Rhydon. Even if the confrontation does escalate into violence, one Rhyperior will often end the fight quickly by showing the pale patch on its throat, a 'white flag of surrender,' if you will. No Rhydon or Rhyhorn would ever show its throat to its opponent!

Even during the mating season, Rhyperior do not severely injure each other over mates. Instead, males will throw scent-marked rocks at each other until one submits.

Female Rhyperior lay one or two eggs per season, and the calves stay with her for two years, hibernating in a cave over the cold winters. The young's scales are dull colored, and do not become bright orange until they leave their mothers.

Rhyperior may live 45 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Although they are not naturally very aggressive, trained Rhyperior can become excellent, powerful battlers, and they are often sought for the arena. Due to this, they have become quite rare in the wild. Although they are registered as endangered, there are no reserves or protections for this species.

**Naturalist's Notes:** A famous anecdote from a researcher describes a Rhyperior grabbing and throwing a Geodude, much to the smaller pokemon's misfortune! However, this does not happen nearly as often as is portrayed in popular culture and folklore.

The only pokemon that prey on Rhyperior are Palkia. These dragons are in fact the only mountain-dwelling predators large enough to take on Rhyperior, and are likely the evolutionary reason for their heavy armaments.


	17. TiPB: Plant Symbiosis

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Edited to remove sarcophytes.

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**Topics in pokemon biology: Plant-Pokemon Symbiosis**

It seems evident that plants and animals are different. Separate. Plants don't move and make their own food from sunlight, and animals move around and take their food from other living things. But in truth, the division isn't so simple. Some animals look like plants, and even photosynthesize. The reason for this confusion is plant-pokemon symbiosis.

Plant-pokemon symbiosis is a surprisingly common and variable phenomena. It ranges from complex plants growing in or on a pokemon, to pokemon that house simple algae in their tissues. Many different groups of pokemon have evolved this symbiosis, from mammals to reptiles to invertebrates.

The implications of these kinds of creature are more than just academic. How do the animal and plant tissues not attack each other with immune responses? How do they recognize the alien tissues as their own? Teasing out the secrets of plant-pokemon symbiosis may be key to understanding immune responses in general.

Please note that not all pokemon classified as "Grass" types by the Pokemon League are symbionts. This is not a scientific classification, and many of the pokemon so classified only resemble plants as camouflage.


	18. Corticicutis cocoiovis

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Exeggcute, Tamatama (seeds), Exeggutor, Nassy (adult)

**Scientific Name**: _Corticicutis cocoiovis_

**Description:** Exeggutor, as adults, are bipedal, tree-like sarcophytes, standing 79 inches tall. Their bodies are composed of stiff, scaly segments of plant tissue, connected by flexible animal tissue. Each movable leg has two gnarled toes.

At the top of the Exeggutor are three hard 'heads,' each holding a great deal of nervous and sensory tissue. The heads are light yellow, with two black sensory pits resembling eyes. Above the heads grow grasslike, photosynthesizing fronds.

Also often seen are the Exeggutor's motile seeds, or Exeggcute. These each measure six inches across, and look like nothing so much as a pink egg with two black sensory pits. Often, they will be riddled with cracks, and in older specimens the pink skin may peel off, revealing a yellow color.

**Range:** Exeggutor are found widely in Johto, with a more fractured range in Kanto.

**Habitat**: Exeggutor live in lowland, broadleaf woods.

**Call:** Both Exeggcute and Exeggutor can let out a warbling shriek, though it is much lower-pitched in Exeggutor.

**Diet:** Exeggutor gain all of their nutrition by photosynthesis, absorbing water through the soles of their feet by extending rootlets into the soil.

**Life Cycle:** Like all plant symbionts, Exeggutor have a complex reproductive cycle. Each spring, one of the heads extends a small, altered frond from its crown, adorned with six small flowers. The flowers are pollinated by tiny gnats, after which they shrivel. About two weeks later, one of the Exeggutor's heads drops off and splits open, releasing six Exeggcute.

These seeds have psychic powers, and use them to roll without any visible means of propulsion. Groups of Exeggcute, called 'nests,' are always from the same parent Exeggutor, and stay together for protection. If separated, they can track for miles to reunite.

As the Exeggcute ripen, their skin begins to crack and flake, showing a yellow layer underneath. Eventually, they find a good place to root down, often a moist patch with plenty of sun. There, they gather together, and the largest, strongest Exeggcute extends tendrils and begins absorbing nutrients from its siblings. It grows enormous while doing this, often swelling many times larger than it was before, and cracking in many places. Once it has drained its siblings dry, the one remaining Exeggcute shoots up first on one stalk, then puts forth fronds and two 'leg stems.' When its leg stems have grown thick enough to support its weight, the original stalk shrivels and it moves off. So, out of a group of six Exeggcute, only one Exeggutor emerges.

**Relationship with Humans:** Exeggutor are considered threatened in Kanto due to habitat loss and over-collecting, and may only be legally caught in the Safari Zone. However, they are doing very well in Johto, and in some areas Exeggcute nests are a very common sight.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Adult Exeggutor are eaten by few pokemon, due to their psychic defenses and ability to spray irritating and poisonous chemicals. However, Exeggcute fall prey to many omnivores, such as Nidorino/a, Hitmontop, and Primeape, especially during its vulnerable stage while growing into an Exeggutor.


	19. Parvabuteo fera

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Spearow, Onisuzume

**Scientific Name:** _Parvabuteo fera_

**Description:** Spearow are small, avian pokemon, measuring 17 inches long with a 30-inch wingspan. They have a cream underbelly, a black back and sides, a brown head with a short, ragged crest, a short brown tail, and rounded reddish wings with pale tips and a white underwing. Their three-toed feet and sharp beak are pinkish beige.

**Range:** Spearow are found throughout northern and central Kanto and Johto, and are widespread in the Sevii Islands. They have also been introduced to the Northeastern Island of Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Spearow will live in any lowland, wooded habitat.

**Call:** Spearow sing a warbling song with two phrases: _paroo, piroo. _Their alarm call is an extremely loud shriek, audible from quite a distance away even through thick brush.

**Diet:** Spearow are almost entirely insectivorous, feeding on nonpokemon insects. They will also eat nonpokemon rodents and reptiles, if they can, and occasionally sample fruit.

Spearow hunt from a perch, or by flapping their wings at clumps of vegetation and snapping up anything that is disturbed by the breeze.

**Life Cycle:** Spearow select their mates based on singing ability, and will pair bond for many years, and sometimes their entire lives. They will often sing together and allogroom to cement their bond, and are fierce in protecting each other.

Spearow are cooperative breeders, meaning that multiple pokemon work together to rear their young. Parent Spearow will often recruit older siblings, aunts, and uncles to help raise the 3-5 chicks, especially if those relatives have not found mates. In years with ample food, the parents may have to rear their young alone, but in lean years the Spearow come together, rearing their young in cooperation. This gives the chicks a better chance of survival.

Spearow can live about 15 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Although the public tends to not particularly like Spearow, viewing them as coarse and violent, they are very common in most regions of Kanto and Johto. They have not been overly impacted by the battle trade, and have in fact benefited from the removal of most of their major predators. They are thus not considered threatened.

Historically, Spearow have been trained to deliver mail, an art that is still practiced in some secluded regions.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Spearow are very social pokemon, living in large, loosely-related flocks. They often nest all in the same group of trees, and have even been seen sharing food, seemingly altruistically. They defend the flock's territory as one, and mob predators together. However, an observer would never guess at this level of group cohesion, for Spearow often squabble amongst themselves for feeding rights, kicking and pulling feathers. Still, they are rarely seriously hurt in these fights.

Spearow are prey for Meowth, Persian, Ekans, Noctowl, and Yanma, and their eggs are food for many others.

Spearow are thought to be quite intelligent, and can mimic both the voices and actions of other pokemon, learning about the world through observation and imitation. Interestingly, they have not been recorded to mimic human speech.


	20. Crudardeola becci

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Fearow, Onidrill

**Scientific Name:** _Crudardeola becci_

**Description:** Fearow are midsized avian pokemon, with a long neck and short legs. They measure 5 ½ feet long and have an 11-foot wingspan. They are a warm brown color, with pale-tipped flight feathers, and a bright red, ragged crest. During the breeding season, they develop a ruff of feathers around the base of the neck and fluffy white feathers on the tail and scapulars. Their sharp bills and four-toed feet are dull pink.

**Range:** Fearow are found throughout mainland Kanto in the summer, and migrate to the Sevii Islands in winter. They have been introduced to the Northeastern Island of Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Fearow prefer wooded habitats with rivers and wetlands nearby, but will also live in drier woods.

**Call:** In the spring, Fearow sing a song consisting of a rising and falling trill. They may also make this call when defending their territory.

**Diet:** Fearow are carnivores, hunting pokemon as well as nonpokemon. They often perch on branches overhanging bodies of water, snapping up fish and amphibians with their long bills. They feed on Caterpie, and will occasionally pursue Weedle, which they must break the stingers off of before eating. They will also use their long necks to reach into Rattata burrows. In the Sevii Islands, they have been seen to hunt Wooper and Marill, which they spear with their beaks.

**Life Cycle:** Fearow pair off yearly, mating and laying their eggs in the spring. Both parents care for and protect their 2-3 young until they fledge, and migrate alongside them. They work together to build a platform nest out of sticks. Mated couples will often display together, raising their scapulars and pointing their impressive bills to the sky.

Fearow may live 17 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Fearow are considered inferior in the arena, despite the ease of catching them, due their ornery disposition and lack of powerful attacks. As a result, they often become the major predators in areas frequented by trainers, and are not threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Fearow are often noted for their flying prowess, able to fly higher than any other pokemon. The record holder was a Fearow filmed by a hot-air balloon at 32,400 feet! At that height, they enter the jet stream, a wind that allows them to fly very quickly when migrating.

Fearow have few predators, though Scyther may occasionally hunt them.


	21. Meganeura claraptera

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Entomic = from Greek for 'insect'

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**Common Name:** Yanma, Yanyanma

**Scientific Name:** _Meganeura claraptera_

**Description:** Yanma is a flying entomic pokemon, measuring 4 feet long with an 8½ foot wingspan. They are bright red in color, with bulbous, green compound eyes and six black legs armed with spines. The four wings are transparent, except for a single orange band on each wing. Their abdomen has a swollen 'club' at the end, which is adorned with two stabilizing rods and a set of claspers. Yanma have two small antennae above the eyes, and a set of sharp mandibles.

Young Yanma, or nymphs, have the elongated body shape of the adults, but lack the wings and bright colors. They are beige in color, with yellow eyes.

**Range:** Yanma are found in central Johto, restricted to only a few mountain valleys and the highlands of Fortune Island. They once had had a much larger range, stretching throughout Johto and into Kanto, which could explain how they were blown over to the Sevii Islands.

**Habitat:** Yanma especially appreciate 'edge habitats' where there are mosaics of riparian, grassland, and wooded habitats.

**Call:** Though Yamna have no vocalization, the sound of their wings is distinctive. The extremely loud buzzing can be painful in volume, and has been compared to a jackhammer.

**Diet:** Yanma are aerial hunters, engaging in active pursuit of flying prey. Their main prey items are Spearow and Pidgey, which they easily outmatch in both speed and maneuverability. They snatch their prey out of the air with their legs, pluck it, and eat it, all while remaining airborne.

**Life Cycle:** During the spring, Yanma swarm in enormous groups over water, the males seeking females, joining claspers and flying in tandem before mating. The male then accompanies the female to a body of water, where she lays a clutch of dozens of eggs. The Yanma nymphs hatch, only a few inches long, and spread out in the water, eating insects and small fish. After a month, they move onto land, where they continue to hunt small creatures in the leaf litter. After two more months, they will have reached nearly adult size, and shed their skin to reveal wings and a bright crimson exoskeleton.

Yanma usually live 5 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Humans have not been kind to Yanma. Due to their semi-aquatic lifestyle, these pokemon are very sensitive to water pollution. This blow is compounded by the battle trade, where Yanma's speed is prized. For these reasons, Yanma are considered endangered.

**Naturalist's Notes: **Yanma are known for their ability to vary the pitch of their wingbeats, which can shatter glass when they hit the right frequency. They can also induce ringing ears, headaches, and temporary deafness.

Yanma's bulbous eyes are capable of seeing movement in all directions, even keeping track of objects that are behind them.

Few predators are able to catch adult Yanma, but many pokemon prey on their young, including Croconaw, Politoad, and Furret.

Yanma nymphs, though they look quite different from the adults, are not separately classified from Yanma by the League, because they cannot be trained and learn no attacks. Thus, by League logic, they are not even pokemon!


	22. Trigonithorax orcatextor

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**

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Common Name:** Yanmega, Megayanma

**Scientific Name:** _Trigonithorax orcatextor_

**Description:** Yanmega are enormous entomic pokemon, measuring more than 6 feet long with an incredible 14-foot wingspan! Their segmented exoskeleton is dark green in color, with two red spots on the sides of each segment. Their eyes are bulbous and red, each with a black 'T' marking. Their exoskeleton has four triangular crests growing out of the head, thorax, and tip of the abdomen. They have three pairs of wings, four large wings on the thorax and two small ones at the end of the abdomen, to stabilize and give extra lift. The two main wings have red tips. Yanmega have six black, spiny legs, a pair of claspers on the abdomen, and two small white antennae above the powerful mandibles.

Yanmega nymphs are dark brown in color, without wings or crests.

**Range:** Yanmega are native to southern Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Yanmega live in coastal wetlands and marshes.

**Call: **The sound of a Yanmega's wings is truly incomparable. Like an airplane taking off, it is bone-rattling, and carries for more than a mile. Close up and at the right pitch, the sound can cause permanent ear damage.

**Diet:** Yanmega are consummate predators, pursuing Starly and Staravia in mid-air. Too loud in flight to be stealth hunters, they will perch silently on tall trees and other lookout points and survey the air for flying prey, which they overwhelm with speed and pluck out of the sky.

**Life Cycle:** Mating for Yanmega is a violent affair. They form huge breeding swarms in fall, flying in tight circles and trying not to crash into each other. There, in order to prevent her from mating with other males, the male Yanmega grabs the female behind her head with his claspers and forces her into the water, where she lays her eggs. He may stay hooked to her for days, until hunger finally drives him to let her go.

The eggs, of which there may be more than seventy, hatch into aquatic nymphs. These predators feed off of Marill, Wooper, and Barboach for about 6 months, until they reach adult size. At this point they shed their skin and emerge as winged adults.

Yanmega grow quickly, for their entire lifespan is only one year. They die with the coming of Sinnoh's harsh winter.

**Relationship with Humans:** Yanmega are often considered nuisances due to the noise of their wings. However, their range is fractured due to the draining and paving over of wetlands, and they rarely become numerous enough to be considered a pest. They are considered threatened, and the only place they may be caught is the semi-protected Great Marsh.

**Naturalist's Notes: **Trainers who own Yanmega often complain of headache and loss of hearing, and for good reason! Spending too much time around these pokemon is considered dangerous, for their sound often passes the pain threshold. Captive Yanmega must be trained to change the pitch of their wingbeats so as not to inflict harm on their trainers, but damage from long-term exposure can still occur.

As with Yanma, Yanmega nymphs are not considered pokemon, since they cannot be trained and learn no attacks.


	23. Certatus roseapueri

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N: **Edited from its original version.

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**Common Name:** Tyrogue, Balkie

**Scientific Name:** _Certatus roseapueri_

**Description:** Tyrogue are small, reptilian bipeds, standing 28 inches tall and covered with dull pink scales. These pokemon have white stripes on the torso and arms, as well as brown thighs and feet. Tyrogue have three digits on each limb, flat faces, and three bony knobs on the crest of their skulls, which are larger in males. They have protuberant cheek pouches, and red or yellow eyes.

**Range:** Today, Tyrogue are found only in Johto's Mortar Range, though they were once found in many areas of northern Johto.

**Habitat:** Tyrogue inhabit old growth forest. They will take dens from other pokemon for shelter, rarely making one themselves, and also shelter in Onix burrows.

**Call**: Tyrogue's voice is a high trilling gargle.

**Diet:** Tyrogue are omnivores, devouring invertebrates, fruits, nuts, and leaves, as well as the occasional Caterpie. When presented with large amounts of food, Tyrogue will often stuff the excess into their copious check pouches until their mouths are grossly distended, then carry it back to their den.

**Life Cycle:** Tyrogue are extremely territorial, and in spring males will fight each other after comparing crest size, often 'boxing' with clenched fists. Females living near males will mate with them, but only tolerate the male's presence for a few hours before chasing him away.

Tyrogue females lay 4-7 eggs and care for their young, feeding them insects and protecting them for two months. They are then on their own.

Tyrogue may live 15 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Tyrogue are very sensitive to human disturbance, and often leave areas that are even lightly inhabited. However, they are often caught for battling, since they are extraordinarily strong for their size, and very quick learners. Due to these pressures, Tyrogue have become very rare, and are protected. Only male Tyrogue can legally be caught, which suits trainers, as the males are more aggressive than females. They are often bred in captivity.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Tyrogue are prey for many other pokemon, including Umbreon, Ekans, and Houndoom. This species is believed to be similar to the ancestors of other, larger pokemon, such as Hitmontop.


	24. Percisus ebiharae

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: Edited from its original version.

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**Common Name:** Hitmonchan, Ebiwalar

**Scientific Name:** _Percisus ebiharae_

**Description:** Hitmonchan are midsize reptilian bipeds, standing 55 inches tall. They have blunt faces with only a very short muzzle, and a mouth that curves downward in a permanent frown. Extending back from the head are five bony crests, and the forward-facing eyes are blue-gray. The teeth are very sharp, but the shape of the mouth prevents efficient biting.

Hitmonchan have large, strong, three-fingered hands, armed along the knuckles with large callused knobs, which are thick-skinned and rough to the touch. Their feet are smaller and have three toes. Their shoulders are protected by two leathery extensions of cartilage. Small cartilaginous 'flaps' hang loosely around Hitmonchan's hips, encircling its lower torso.

Hitmonchan have pale lavender-grey torsos, feet, and hip-flaps, though most of the rest of their body is beige. They have a black band around their waist, and their hands and knuckle-knobs are bright red in adult males.

**Range:** Hitmonchan are native to central and coastal Kanto, but have been driven to near extinction in the wild. They were last sighted east of Vermillion City.

**Habitat**: Hitmonchan live in open woodlands.

**Call:** Hitmonchan make a long, trumpeting warble to defend their territory. They may also growl.

**Diet:** Hitmonchan are strict carnivores, often stalking prey as large as themselves or larger. They have been known to hunt Hitmonlee, Lickitung, and Doduo. They kill their prey not with a bite, but by striking them with their hands, pummeling their prey into submission with extremely rapid punches. They will hit the head and neck, aiming to stun or kill, and tear their prey into pieces with their hands.

**Life Cycle:** Hitmonchan are entirely solitary, their territoriality preventing any socialization outside of the mating season. During this period in winter, the females scent-mark the boarders of their territory, leaving a message for any nearby males to follow. The two Hitmonchan only interact long enough to mate, then part.

The Hitmonchan female digs a scrape and lines it with furs and grass, protecting the 1-2 eggs for three months, until they hatch. The young, which are pale pink, follow their mother for a year, after which time she drives them off.

**Relationship with Humans:** Hitmonchan have many fans in the arena, for their strength and their aggressive nature. However, over-collecting and habitat destruction have made them effectively extinct in the wild. Any Hitmonchan that might remain in the wild are considered protected.

In captivity, Hitmonchan breed prolifically, but there are no current plans to reintroduce them to the wild. In the arena, only males are used, and many trainers never even see a female.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Hitmonchan are well able to defend themselves with their punches, and are only rarely targeted by other predators, such as Scyther. Most mortality in a wild setting is believed to come from territorial fighting.


	25. Calcitrosus sawamurae

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Hitmonlee, Sawamurer

**Scientific Name:** _Calcitrosus sawamurae_

**Description:** Hitmonlee are reptilian bipeds, standing 59 inches tall with their neck extended. They have long legs covered with large beige scales, and three-toed, clawed feet with yellow, callused knobs on the bottoms and sides. Their arms also have beige scales, and they have three fingers on each hand. The rest of their body is brown in color, with black markings beneath the eyes.

Hitmonlee are well-known for their highly unusual, 'headless' appearance. The Hitmonlee's actual head is perched on a skinny beige neck, and is extremely broad and flat, with a flat crest projecting off the back. When threatened, they assume a distinctive defense posture, retracting their heads into their bodies. The neck folds up and the top of the crest fits flush with their shoulders. Hitmonlee's large yellow eyes face forward, so even in this retracted position they are able to see. The overall effect of the defense posture is to make the pokemon appear as though it has no head, with the mouth hidden.

Because of this pokemon's nervous temperament and the fact that it is often only seen in the arena, it is mostly depicted in media in its defensive posture.

**Range:** Hitmonlee were once found in northern and central Kanto, but have been reduced to a small, fractured range north of Celadon City, where they were last seen. They are likely extinct in the wild.

**Habitat:** Hitmonlee live in open woodland and savannah.

**Call: **Hitmonlee groan and grumble to each other to keep in contact.

**Diet:** Hitmonlee are herbivorous, living off of broadleaf plants.

**Life cycle:** Hitmonlee travel in small, loose family groups called 'strikes,' rarely mixing with Hitmonlee outside of their immediate group. They only come together during the mating season, when males become vicious in their competition for mates. The males whirl and kick with their clawed feet, and as a result are often covered in scars, despite their thick skin. Thankfully, they rarely are seriously injured, and never aim for each other's eyes, despite the obvious advantage this would give them.

Female Hitmonlee are much more placid in disposition, and lay 2-3 eggs in a scrape, which they care for. Her mate does not incubate the eggs, but he will guard the female. When the eggs hatch, the pale pink young can already walk, and follow their mother and father for two years, when they reach breeding size and leave. Sibling pairs may stay together for years, even rearing each other's young.

Hitmonlee live for about 17 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Hitmonlee are well-regarded for their power and agility in the arena, and have been collected to near extinction. It may even be completely extinct in the wild, as there have been no recorded sightings for several years. It is too early to tell, however. Captive breeding has been successful, but no efforts are currently underway to reintroduce this species.

There are standing laws permitting only the capture of male Hitmonlee, but this law is nearly redundant, as due to their more aggressive temperaments, only male Hitmonlee are traditionally used in battling.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Hitmonlee have excellent balance, able to stand on one leg while kicking with the other for a long period of time. They are very fast, due to their long legs, and can reach speeds of 50 mph, tucking their heads in to reduce drag.

Hitmonlee are surprisingly cautious pokemon, and in the high-stress environment of a battling ring do not relax out of their defensive posture. It is very rare even in the wild to see these pokemon with their delicate necks extended. And for good reason, as they are prey for Scyther, Nidoqueen/king, Arcanine, and their cousins the Hitmonchan. They do not make easy prey, however, and defend themselves by kicking.


	26. Antechocephalus capitistare

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Hitmontop, Kapoerer

**Scientific Name: **_Antechocephalus capitistare_

**Description:** Hitmontop are reptilian bipeds, standing 55 inches tall, with a short tail and powerful limbs. Hitmontop's scales are light brown, with blue on the sides, back, feet, and tip of the tail. The blue on the females is slightly duller. The tail ends in a bony club and a single spike, and the feet each have three clawed toes, one facing backward.

Hitmontop have two bony frills around the sides of their heads, which split at the tips into three fringes. They have blunt muzzles and dark eyes, and a single horn juts up from the tops of their heads.

**Range**: Hitmontop are endemic to central Johto, but their range today is extremely small and fragmented, if in fact they still exist in the wild at all. The last known sighting was in a few reserves northwest of Cherrygrove City. They are widespread in captivity.

**Habitat:** Hitmontop live in open woodland and scrubland.

**Call:** Hitmontop's contact call is a two-syllable whistle. It also can make a bark-like growl as a warning call.

**Diet:** Hitmontop are omnivores, eating fruit and vegetable matter in addition to insects, nonpokemon vertebrates, and small pokemon such as Caterpie and Rattata. They kill their prey by leaping into the air and coming down upon it with the claws on the feet. They hunt alone, but when eating plant material may gather into loose groups called 'strikes.' Hitmontop will also scavenge from carrion.

**Life Cycle:** Hitmontop mate in the winter, when females gather into harems in food-rich areas. There, males defend the harems from other males aggressively, strutting, showing their colors, and shaking their heads as a display. Each female lays a single egg on a platform leaf nest on the ground, which hatches quickly. Young Hitmontop lack horns and are pale pink in color, and do not attain adult coloration for two years. The hatchling accompanies its mother for nine months, then leaves.

Hitmontop live for approximately 20 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Hitmontop are prized in the arena for their fighting prowess, and have been hit hard by habitat destruction as well. The wild population has been decimated by these dual threats, and Hitmontop are currently considered endangered. Thankfully, captive breeding has resulted in a large domestic stock, and reintroduction may be on the horizon. Only male Hitmontop are generally used in the arena, due to their aggression.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Hitmontop are perhaps best known for their unusual defense mechanism. When threatened, they brace their horn against the ground and flip onto their forehead, which is flat and supported by thick bone. They then lift their clawed feet and spiked tail into the air. From this headstand position, they quickly rotate their body with their front limbs, and are thus able to strike with three limbs at once at the threat, no matter which direction it tries to attack from. Interestingly, male Hitmontop do not display this fighting pattern in intra-species battles for females, but both sexes use it against large predators such as Scizor.

Captive Hitmontop traditionally have their wrists and ankles wrapped, for protection and support.


	27. TiPB: Pokemon Taxonomy

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: I decided that 'diatemnosomid' was too big a mouthful, so renamed the insect-like pokemon as 'entomon,' from the Greek for 'insect.'

Edited to remove the sarcophytes.

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**Topics in Pokemon Biology: Pokemon Taxonomy**

Taxonomy is the science of determining the evolutionary relationships between different species. In the study of pokemon, this is a particularly difficult task, as even the term 'Pokemon' is not a scientific one. Rather, it is a category comprising many unrelated creatures, sharing only the trait of being able to be controlled and trained, and being over eight inches fully grown. 'Pokemon,' then, is a fluid concept, constantly being revised.

There are, however, biological classifications for pokemon. Some of these, both taxonomic and non-taxonomic, are covered below.

**Spumids**: Spumids are asymmetric, 'blob-like' invertebrates. They have no organs, and are instead made up of muscular cells, reproductive cells, digestive cells, and sensory cells. These cells may aggregate when needed, but generally are dispersed through the pokemon's body. Spumids have extraordinary regenerative capabilities, even able to reform when passed through a sieve. They are generally scavengers.

(Ex: Ditto, Muk)

**Echinoderms:** Meaning 'spiny skin,' echinoderms are radially symmetrical, with a mouth in the center surrounded by several arms. Echinoderms have a hard internal skeleton made up of bony plates, and their musculature is hydraulic. They may be carnivores, filter feeders, scavengers, or herbivores, and are mainly aquatic.

(Ex: Starmie, Cradilly)

**Petroderms: **These strange and rare animals have shells, often with a rough, uneven surface, like a stone (hence the name, meaning 'stone-skin). They are unique in that they go through both asexual and sexual reproduction in their life cycle, alternating between budding and breeding. Their mouths are located on their undersides, and they may be carnivores or herbivores.

(Ex: Metagross, Probopass)

**Entomon:** Entomon appear similar to insects, but a closer look reveals that they are different. Entomon may have either four or six limbs, sometimes in addition to two or four wings. Their bodies and limbs are segmented, and have an external skeleton in addition to an internal supportive structure, both made up of chitin. They have a head, thorax, and abdomen, but the thorax may be fused with the head in some cases. Their eyes are compound, and they have variable mouthparts, including proboscises, cutting mandibles, and vertebrate-like jaws. They shed their exoskeletons to grow, and may go through a wingless nymph stage. Other entomon go through metamorphosis, with distinct larval and pupal stages.

Entomon show a great deal of diversity, and range from predators to herbivores and everything in between. They have colonized the deep ocean, the jungle, and the air, and include some of the most common and successful pokemon.

(Ex: Drapion, Beautifly)

**Mollusks:** Molluscan pokemon are quite variable, including many species that one would not guess are related. The three main groups are Bivalves, Gastropods, and Myribrachids. All have a mantle, a covering that secretes a shell, simple eyes, and a foot, which is a muscle that is used for locomotion. They are otherwise quite diverse.

_Gastropods_ have one or no shell, held on their backs, and move with their foot along their belly. They can follow any diet, and eat with a raspy 'radula,' a tongue covered with teeth.

(Ex: Swalot, Magcargo)

_Bivalves_ have two shells, held together by a hinge, and are sedentary filter feeders. Some grow to be quite large.

(Ex: Forretress, Clamperl)

_Myribrachids_ are considered the most 'advanced' group of mollusks, or at least the most complex. They have one or no shell, and their foot is divided into two or more tentacles. Many also have tentacles emerging from the back of their mantle. Unlike their relatives, Miribrachids are not bottom dwellers, and can swim freely with jet propulsion or move on land with the aid of their tentacles. They have four beak-like mandibles, arranged radially around the mouth. All are carnivores.

(Ex: Glalie, Tentacool)

**Vertebrates:** By far the largest group of pokemon is the vertebrates. Possessing an internal calcified skeleton and a centralized nervous system, vertebrates can be found in all habitats and in many different forms. The major groups are listed below.

_Fish_ pokemon are scaly and breathe water with gills. They are mostly found in aquatic environments, and are usually carnivorous. Fish have several sets of fins, and are powerful swimmers.

(Ex: Quilfish, Lumineon)

_Amphibians_have smooth, slimy skin and paired limbs. They usually breathe air, but when young breathe water, and so require both water and land to complete their life cycle. They are carnivores or scavengers. Some are bipeds, and others lack limbs.

(Ex: Toxicroak, Quagsire)

_Reptiles_ have dry, scaly skin, and are not bound to the water for their reproduction. Many have sprawled out legs, but a subset known as the dinosaurs have legs set directly under the body for an upright, more efficient gait. Others have no legs at all. Reptilian pokemon are found worldwide, in many ecological niches.

(Ex: Feraligatr, Arbok)

_Mammo-reptiles_ have mammal-like skeletal structures and teeth, but are covered with scales and give no milk. They are believed to be an evolutionary intergrade between mammals and reptiles, and vary in how much they resemble mammals or reptiles, in whether or not they have external ears, fur, and specialized teeth. They can occupy almost any ecological niche.

(Ex: Kangaskhan, Abomasnow)

_Mammals_ are unique in the production of milk for their young, from milk glands (called mammaries) along the underside of the female. They often show prolonged parental care. Mammals are usually covered in fur, and may occupy any ecological niche.

(Ex: Leafeon, Crobat)

_Birds_ are distinguished from reptiles by the presence of feathers and lack of teeth, but there are many intergrades, and the distinction between the two groups is contentious. Some pokemon researchers advocate making a new group for intermediates, the _reptilio-avians_. That said, most birds have feathered wings, while most reptiles do not. Birds may occupy any ecological niche.

(Ex: Xatu, Doduo)

**Non-taxonomic classifications**

**Hexapeds**: Hexapeds, or vertebrates with six limbs, were once all thought to be related, but it is now known that multiple pokemon groups have developed hexapedalism independently from each other. Birds, reptiles, mammo-reptiles, and mammals have all evolved hexapedal species. There is only one known species of octoped, and it is believed that it evolved from hexaped ancestors.

(Ex: Graveler, Salamance)

**Multicaudality**: Many unrelated pokemon exhibit multicaudality or partial multicaudality, that is, the presence of more than one tail. The precise reason for multicaudality in so many species is unknown, though it may have communicative or display purposes.

(Ex: Exploud, Floatzel)

**Placentals:** Almost all pokemon reproduce by laying eggs, or Ovipary. Eggs can be hard or soft-shelled, and laid singly or in clutches. Some pokemon hold their eggs in their bodies for extended periods, a condition called Ovovivipary, and only lay them a few days before hatching. A rare few do not lay their eggs at all, and instead allow them to hatch within the body. However, there are some pokemon that do not form eggs at all, and instead hold the embryos within a womb, like a human. This is called Vivipary, and has arisen several times in different taxonomic lines. However, it is very rare.

(Ex: Shaymin, Rayquaza)

**League classifications:** This is the way that most of the public classifies pokemon, as 'Ground Type,' 'Psychic type,' etc. It is not, however, a scientifically based system. Rather, it only takes into account the behavior and abilities of the pokemon in the arena. While this is very useful for trainers, it has little biological significance, and leads to echinoderms being classified with mammals and reptiles, all as 'Water Type!'

Most pokemon researchers discount this system as outdated and unhelpful.


	28. Geliarboris niveus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name:** Snover, Yukikaburi (juvenile), Abomasnow, Yukinooh (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Geliarboris niveus_

**Description:** Abomasnow are huge mammo-reptiles, standing over 7 feet tall on two legs. Their bodies are covered with dense, white fur, growing particularly thickly as whiskers on their face and as comically bushy eyebrows. These ruffs protect their eyes, nose, and mouth from flying snow. They also have a ruff around their shoulders. However, their lower arms, legs, and the tip of their tails are hairless, and are covered in green scales. Two spikes extend from the sides of the tail, and two pairs of green bony plates extend from the Abomasnow's back. They have three fingers and toes. Abomasnow teeth are peglike and blunt, and their eyes are pale pink with small pupils to cope with snow glare.

Somewhat different in appearance are the Abomasnow's young, known as Snover. Snover lack the thick ruffs of fur around the shoulders, but have a mane on their heads, including hairs that stick straight up, forming three ridges along the top of the head. Their lower bodies, legs, and underbelly are often brown in color. Snover have only two plates on their backs and lack tail spikes, but they have four spines around their wrists, which are lost in adulthood. Snover eyes are green.

**Range:** Abomasnow are found in Northern Sinnoh and the Coronet Range.

**Habitat**: Abomasnow live in cold conifer forests, dominated by cedar and fir.

**Call:** Abomasnow have a highly distinctive call, a low, foghorn-like moan. They also make a grumbling growl. Snover make a high warble.

**Diet:** Abomasnow live off of conifer needles, of which they must eat vast amounts to gain any nutrient value. These needles also contain toxins, which Abomasnow secrete as bright red droplets on their bodies. These quickly dry into hard pellets stuck in the Abomasnow's fur, which are affectionately dubbed 'berries' by researchers.

**Life Cycle:** Abomasnow mate in spring, when males track down females by scent. If she accepts him, they will pair bond and dig a den together. She lays 3-5 eggs in the den and lines it with her own fur. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs through the long winter. The hatchlings, which are brown colored and helpless, are fed a fatty secretion from their parent's mouths, not true milk but similar. By summer, they are ready to leave the den (a good thing, as dens tend to accumulate parasites), and follow their parents as they learn to eat solid food. The Snover are very vulnerable at this point, and parents are exceedingly protective of them. By the next winter, the Snover are large enough to fend for themselves, and leave their parents. However, it may take 5 years or more to become sexually mature, as they slowly lose their brown fur in exchange for the adult white. Females tend to mature faster than males, so have more white fur at the same age.

A mated pair may stay together if they are particularly successful in rearing young, but if they fail they are likely to part and find new mates.

Abomasnow may live 38 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Although Abomasnow are very powerful, their harsh habitat prevents most trainers from seeking them out. Abomasnow are shy of humans, and generally retreat from areas that are inhabited by them. Unfortunately, due to their timidity, is very difficult to measure the Abomasnow's population dynamics, and it is unknown if the population is stable or declining. It is not currently considered endangered.

Abomasnow is considered the basis for the "Abominable Snowman" and similar legends.

The 'berries' that are secreted in Abomasnow's fur are considered medicinal by some traditional people, and feature in several homeopathic cures. Thankfully, they can be collected without hurting the Abomasnow during the shedding season, but in practice this is not always the case.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Abomasnow is capable of hydrosolidification, or the forced conversion of water to ice. They use a combination of potently endothermic chemicals sprayed from a throat gland to form ice shards in a spray, enough to drive away most attackers.

Abomasnow are preyed upon by Palkia, and may be eaten by Weavile when young.


	29. Crepundium flavaventer

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Ekans, Arbo

**Scientific Name:** _Crepundium flavaventer_

**Description:** Ekans is a large snake pokemon, measuring 73 inches long. Its scales are pale to rich purple, with a thick yellow band around the neck and several thin black bands around the body, as well as a black band between the eyes. Its underbelly is yellow, as are its slit-pupiled eyes. On the end of its tail is a yellow rattle, formed from large, loosely-connected scales.

Ekans is a rear-fanged snake, with many small, sharp teeth in its mouth.

**Range:** Ekans are widespread in Kanto and Johto.

**Habitat:** Ekans are adaptable, and will live in forest, woodland, and savannah habitats. They like soft soils that allow for easy digging.

**Call:** Ekans growl to communicate, vibrating their calls against the ground so that underground Ekans will be able to hear them.

When threatened, Ekans will rattle their tails as a warning before striking.

**Diet:** Ekans are carnivores, hunting at night by stealth. Their diet is mostly made up of Rattata, but they also will eat Caterpie, Meowth and Mankey. Ekans have been seen to wait outside of Zubat caves at dusk and dawn, snatching the Zubat out of the air as they go in and out of the cave. They will climb trees to take bird pokemon such as Spearow and Pidgey from their nests as they sleep, and also feed off of a variety of pokemon eggs, which they seem to prefer to all other foods.

Ekans are capable of both poisoning and constricting their prey, and will choose different methods for different circumstances. Ekans have a limited supply of venom, so when attacking a small prey item such as a Rattata they will generally choose constriction. But, when facing more dangerous prey such as Mankey, they will strike and retreat, letting the venom weaken their prey before subduing them.

Ekans are capable of eating prey larger than their heads by separating their lower jaws, their bodies expanding greatly. Recently-fed Ekans can often be found basking in the sun, a hugely distended lump in the middle of their bodies. However, one meal can last them weeks.

**Life Cycle:** In late summer, male Ekans become restless, leaving their normal territories and seeking out females. Unfortunately for them, the females are often unreceptive, and will only mate if their fat reserves are enough to fuel the production of eggs.

If the female does mate, she will retreat into her burrow all winter, incubating her eggs and not eating. She will also guard the newborns for several days after hatching. Then they leave, and she begins building her reserves back up for the next mating.

Ekans do not have venom at birth, but begin producing it only a few months after hatching. They may live up to 30 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Ekans are not particularly sought for the arena, so are still abundant in many areas. However, fear of their venom has led to extermination campaigns in some districts, where they have understandably become quite rare. They are not yet considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Ekans, like all snakes, possess a keen sense of smell. They smell by flicking their tongues to pick up airborne scents, then press the tongue against a sensitive spot known as the Jacobson's organ, which picks up the scent. They are able to follow even several-day old tracks for miles, and have been trained to sniff for drugs.

Ekans are cold-blooded, and spend much of their time basking in the sunlight. They can often be seen spread out on roads, simply soaking in the heat.

Although they are generally not aggressive towards humans, Ekans possess dangerous venom, and can strike up to half of their body length away (over 3 feet). If bitten, apply a tourniquet, try not to move, and call for help. Ekans venom can seriously debilitate and even kill if untreated.

Ekans fall prey to their cousins the Arbok, as well as to Nidoqueen/king, both of which are resistant to Ekans venom.


	30. Prosopo naja

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Arbok

**Scientific Name:** _Prosopo naja _

**Description:** Arbok are huge snakes, measuring 11½ feet long, 7 inches thick in the middle, and capable of raising their heads 3 feet in the air. They have sleek, smooth scales, colored dark purple and banded with thin black stripes.

The most visible characteristic of the Arbok is its hood, which is composed of extendable ribs and loose skin. Arbok extend their hoods whenever they feel threatened, to enhance their already considerably intimidating appearance. The pattern on the front of the Arbok's hood is quite variable between populations, though it always resembles a face, with a large 'mouth' at the bottom and two eyespots. Six subspecies are currently classified, divided into 'pupiled' and 'non-pupiled' groups. The eyespots of Pupiled Arbok are complete with pupils, and are more common in Johto, while the non-pupiled Arbok have eyespots without pupils and are more common in Kanto. One Kanto subspecies, _Prosopo naja colorietatis_, has black stripes on the back of the hood.

**Range:** Arbok are found in several areas throughout Kanto and Johto, including the Cerulean Cape, the Tojoh area, and the foothills of both Mt. Mortar and the Kanto Victory Mountains.

**Habitat:** Arbok live in foothills and lowland forests, preferring dense broadleaf forest above all other habitats.

**Call:** Arbok boom and growl loudly, as well as making a disturbing, low, gargling hiss, usually accompanied with a spread hood.

**Diet:** Arbok are stealthy carnivores, hunting a variety of mid-sized pokemon, including Raticate, Jigglypuff, Psyduck, Poliwhirl, and even their cousins the Ekans. They are capable of dislocating their jaws to swallow particularly large prey, and may go several weeks between meals.

Arbok generally constrict their prey, but if they have trouble subduing them they will bite and inject deadly venom.

**Life Cycle:** Arbok mate in the spring, males tracking females by scent and entwining with them for hours. The females lay a clutch of up to 20 eggs in a well-mulched hole, and then leave them to fend for themselves.

Unlike as with Ekans, newborn Arbok are just as venomous as the adults, and are perfectly capable of killing with a bite. Arbok may live 40 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Arbok are often sought in the arena for their powerful venom, and their numbers are declining due to capturing and habitat destruction. Some of the subspecies are considered endangered.

**Naturalist's Notes:** The six recognized subspecies of Arbok are _P. naja colorietatis,_ the Striped Arbok, _P. naja flavaludi,_ the Smallmouth Arbok, _P. naja metallietatis, _the Eastern Arbok, _P. naja gemmaetatis,_ the Western Arbok, _P. naja albaetatis,_ the Notched Arbok, and _P. naja borealis, _the Northern Arbok. All have subtly different hood patterns.

Arbok have no predators, and for good reason. If threatened by an inexperienced Scizor or Houndoom, they will rear up, spread their hood, and spit up corrosive stomach acid at the predator. This is usually enough to dissuade most any pokemon from attack, and if not, they will bring their venomous fangs to bear. Most pokemon are familiar with Arbok, and the mere sight of one is enough to cause terror.

Arbok spend much of their time basking, and are not normally aggressive toward humans, but their bites are extremely serious, attacking the nervous system and surrounding tissues. One bite contains enough venom to kill three Onix. If bitten, apply a tourniquet, call the nearest hospital, and pray.


	31. Hippoammus graveponderis

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Hippopotas (juvenile), Hippowdon, Kabarudon (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Hippoammus graveponderis_

**Description:** Hippowdon are large quadruped mammals, measuring 79 inches long and standing 30 inches at the shoulder. They have thick, leathery skin and a bony carapace embedded with several sphincters protected by ridges. Their heads are huge and heavy, with a wide mouth and large nostrils set above sensitive black whiskers. Their teeth are thick and blunt, and they have two tusks in the bottom jaw. Hippowdon have no external ears, but their red eyes project from the head, allowing them to bury themselves beneath sand and still see. Their feet have thick nails on broad, blunt toes. The color of Hippowdon's carapace is dark gray, as are its nose, feet, and eyelids, while its skin is slate gray in females and tan in males.

Juvenile Hippowdon are called Hippopotas, and are quite different in appearance. Their brain case is underdeveloped, but their jaws are large and powerful, making them appear to be all muzzle. Their eyes are perched on stalks, allowing them to see in all directions. They lack a carapace, instead only having a single bony 'hump' on their lower backs. Hippopotas' body color is mottled shades of tan, beige, and brown, the females often being darker than the males.

**Range:** Hippowdon are found in eastern central Sinnoh. They have been introduced to the Northeastern Island.

**Habitat:** Hippowdon live in the dry rainshadow of the Coronet Range, in the cold rocky deserts found there.

**Call: **Hippowdon make a rough, loud bellow when angry. The sound of their breathing is a distinctive _tis, tis_, as they must clear sand from their nostrils with every breath. When begging, Hippopotas make a long, chattering _gu-gup gup gup gup gupgup gugugu-u-u-up!_

**Diet:** Hippowdon are largely herbivores, eating a variety of grasses, succulents and tubers, which they dig for. They migrate long distances in search of food.

Hippowdon have been observed scavenging meat, but it is believed that this is a last-resort food source.

**Life Cycle:** Hippowdon move in small herds, made up of a dominant male and several females and their Hippopotas. They have no breeding season. Females are ovoviviparous, keeping their eggs within their bodies for most of their incubation, laying them in a sandy patch only a few days before they hatch. This enables them to keep on the move while their eggs gestate. The Hippopotas hatchlings are able to walk from birth, and must keep up with their mother as she wanders. They take 2 years to reach independence, and reach maturity at 5 years of age, at which point young males are expelled from the herd.

Life is difficult for the young male Hippowdon. They are at increased risk of predation, and cannot breed unless they manage to defeat a dominant male. These fights are a substantial source of adolescent mortality for males. If a male manages to take control of a herd, his first action will generally be to kill any unweaned Hippopotas, in order to bring the females back into heat.

Hippowdon may live 48 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Hippowdon are under high demand, both for the arena and for their tough leather. Hippowdon ranches can largely fulfill this latter demand, but trainers prefer wild individuals. Hippowdon populations are believed to be in decline, and seem to be most populous in the Northeastern Island, where they were introduced from mainland Sinnoh.

**Naturalist's Notes:** During the day, Hippowdon stay buried in the sand with only their nostrils and eyes projecting, in order to stay cool and protected from the sun. At night, they forage.

Hippowdon are excellent diggers, capable of moving earth both with their feet and with their mouth, which can gape 2½ feet across. In loose sand, they can even appear to 'swim' through the earth. Hippowdon use this ability to bury themselves, and to unearth nutritious tubers.

The sphincters on Hippowdon's back are very important. They are lined with blood vessels, and open during the day to allow Hippowdon's blood to cool. As a side effect, they fill with sand, which is kept inside specialized pockets that connect to muscular air sacs beneath the carapace. If the Hippowdon is attacked from the side or behind, as their main predators the Garchomp are likely to do, they can spray the predator with a blast of blinding sand.


	32. Hylobates fenestella

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** I realized that this wasn't really a field guide so much as it was a natural history text. So, I changed the title. What do you think? Change it back? Keep it? Lobster?

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**Common Name:** Elekid

**Scientific Name:** _Hylobates fenestella_

**Description:** Elekid are medium-sized electrogenic primates, standing two feet tall on two legs, with the ears adding another 10 inches. They are mostly medium yellow in color, with two black bands on the arms, two on the body, and black legs with yellow feet, as well as a zig-zag black marking on the underbelly. A mane of fur around their heads and their tendency to hunch their necks makes their heads appear to blend seamlessly into their bodies. Elekid have blunt muzzles with projecting canines in the males, and extremely large, perked ears. The ears are notable for their 'window,' a round, natural hole in the ears near the tips. These are believed to serve a role in communication and warning, as the ears are highly mobile and expressive.

Elekid have three clawed fingers on the end of their long arms. Their lower arms have a wide fringe of stiff fur, making the arms appear even larger than they are. Elekid also have three toes, though the toes are often hidden due to fur on the feet. They have no tail.

**Range:** Elekid are native to southern Johto, and have an extremely fractured range. They are now found only in a select few reserves near Azalea Town.

**Habitat:** Elekid are found in dense forest, the more vines and tangled growth the better!

**Call:** Elekid have varied calls, spiting, grunting, whining, and buzzing to communicate.

**Diet:** Elekid are omnivores, eating a variety of fruits, leaves, flowers, nuts, eggs, and insects. They will often memorize the layout and season of fruit bearing trees in their forest, and migrate accordingly.

**Life Cycle:** Elekid live in small family groups, led by a dominant male and female and including their adolescent young and occasionally siblings. Elekid have no mating season, and the female lays only one egg at a time, in a woven leaf nest cradled in branches.

Elekid young are carefully cared for by their parents, clinging to their mother's underside or riding on her back as she moves. They will often stay within their family group for up to 7 years, and can live to be up to 42 years old.

**Relationship with Humans:** Elekid are completely dependant on their forests for protection, and the felling of most old-growth forests has decimated the species, along with a surprisingly strong arena demand. As few as 400 wild Elekid may remain. They are also hunted, both historically and currently, for their thick, colorful pelts. This is currently illegal, but there is still a black-marked demand.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Elekid can spend their whole lives in the trees, brachiating from branch to branch and never coming down. When they are forced to the ground, they are clumsy, holding their long arms in the air and running awkwardly on two legs.

Elekid are very territorial, and when meeting another Elekid group will engage in an 'arm-spinning' display, a dramatic advertisement of balancing ability that makes good use of the Elekid's long, showy arms and flexible shoulders.

If this threat doesn't work, Elekid employ a more offensive tactic, that of electrogeneration. Elekid are electrogenic, that is, able to produce an electrical field from organs located under their ears. They are able to channel this electricity to their ear tips and their hands. Elekid are not as strongly electrogenic as some of their cousins, but can still deliver a painful shock.

Elekid are picked off at night by Golbat and Crobat. However, Elekid are not easy prey, and will band together to fight off their predators.


	33. Electricus capitulatus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Electabuzz, Eleboo

**Scientific Name:** _Electricus __capitulatus_

**Description:** Electabuzz are large primates, standing 43 inches tall on two legs, though they will knuckle-walk as well. Electabuzz are medium yellow in color, with many black stripes on the limbs, a zig-zag black marking on the underside of the body, and a black 'V' marking on the forehead.

Electabuzz have a long striped tail, and two toes on each foot, along with a false third toe pointing backward. They have five fingers on each hand and a broad, flat face with distinctive tufts of fur on the cheeks and crown. Males tend to have longer, projecting canines. Most unusually, Electabuzz' external ears look like rods tipped with knobs, and can move independantly.

**Range:** Electabuzz were once found throughout eastern Kanto, but today have an extremely diminished range.

**Habitat:** Electabuzz live in dense forest.

**Call**: Electabuzz have a distinctive call, a buzzing whine with five syllables that warble up and down. They also growl and burp.

**Diet**: Electabuzz are omnivores, eating insects and small nonpokemon in addition to fruits, leaves, and nuts. They will occasionally hunt Caterpie, but stay away from Weedle.

**Life Cycle:** Electabuzz are social pokemon, living in arboreal troops. Troops usually consist of a dominant male looking after several females, while younger males live solitarily. Male Electabuzz display to females by calling and whirling their arms. If she is impressed, they will mate, and she will lay an egg in a leaf nest high in a tree.

Female Electabuzz are highly devoted to their young, allowing the baby to cling to her back for several years, usually until she physically cannot carry it anymore. They reach sexual maturity at 5-6 years old.

These pokemon may live up to 45 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Electabuzz are strong, intelligent, and easily trained. So, they have been heavily sought for the arena, a threat that is compounded by habitat destruction. Electabuzz are currently found in only a select few locations north of Lavender Town. They are considered threatened, and open season is very limited. During most of the year, only males may be taken.

**Naturalist's Notes:** The Electabuzz's electrogenic organs are situated at the bases of the ears, and there are secondary ones in the wrists. Their highly modified ears, sometimes incorrectly called antennae, function as electrical sensors as well as discharge points, as do their hands. These pokemon are well known for their ability to discharge electricity while attacking physically with their fists.

Electabuzz use electrogeneration for communication as well as defense, and can vary their electric fields at low voltage to transmit messages. At night, this field can be seen as a faint glow around their bodies. Due to this method of communication, Electabuzz are drawn to artificial sources of electricity, and will cause blackouts in their attempts to find out what power lines are 'saying.'

Electabuzz are excellent climbers, rarely leaving the trees. If they come down to the ground, they are at risk of attack from predators such as Hitmonchan. Electabuzz tails are not prehensile, but act as a counterbalance, and their feet are good at grasping.


	34. Electricus contactrum

Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Electivire, Elekible

**Scientific Name**: Electricus contactrum

**Description**: Electivire are huge bipedal primates, the males standing nearly 6 feet tall. They have medium yellow fur, with several black markings. They have a single black band around each limb, a black band down the center of their front and back, which ends on the upper back in a circular outline containing two black dots. Its fingers and toes are black, and it has two black patches on its chest. Distinctively, Electivire has a black 'mask' around its eyes, and a black spot in the middle of its forehead.

Electivire have unusual, knoblike ears similar to those of its relative Electabuzz. They also have red eyes, large blunt teeth, five fingers, and three clawed toes. Electivire have a fringe of fur around their jawline and cheeks, larger in the males. Electivire males are also larger and more heavily-built than the females.

Electivire exhibit bicaudality, with two long, skinny black tails, each tipped with a reddish, hairless patch of skin. When Electivire feel threatened, they arc these tails over their shoulders in a threat display.

**Range**: Electivre are native to southern Sinnoh, and are currently found only in Sinnoh's southeast.

**Habitat**: Electivire live in temperate woodlands.

**Call**: Electivire have two main calls, a nasally inhalation, somewhat like an exaggerated gasp, and a hissing _tchtchtchtch_. They will also let out a high-pitched howl to demarcate their territories.

**Diet**: Electivire are primarily herbivorous, eating a variety of fruits, leaves, shoots, and other plant parts. They will occasionally indulge in the eggs of other pokemon, and even more rarely will hunt other pokemon, such as Mime Jr and Shellos.

**Life Cycle**: Electivire live in close-knit troops, made up of females and young males led by one dominant male, who is distinguishable by his longer cheek ruffs. Electivire mate in spring, when the males display loudly, roaring and pounding their chests.

Each female lays a single egg in a woven leaf nest, which they protect viciously. As soon as the baby Electivire hatches, it can cling to its mother's fur, hanging beneath her or riding on her back. She will often care for a single baby for several years without breeding again.

Male Electivire must leave their troop after they reach sexual maturity (around 8 years old), and live alone until they can challenge a dominant male for breeding rights. Challenges are often more about displaying tails and howling than actual fighting, but if the two are evenly matched, they may physically battle.

Winter is hard for Electivire, and they often huddle into groups and semi-hibernate, barely moving through the long snows. Because lone young males do not have groups to huddle with, they often suffer high mortality rates.

Electivire can live up to 52 years.

**Relationship With Humans**: Elecitvire are extremely shy of humans, and for good reason. They are highly prized in the arena for their electrogenic capabilities. Due to their power, they are often hunted and poached, even from reserves. Electivire are considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes**: Electivire have electrogenic organs in their ears, hands, and tails, and are powerful enough to shock a grown man to death, under the right conditions.

Electivire were once hunted by Giratina, but the rarity of those pokemon in this day and age leave Electivire with no native predators. However, the introduced predatory Houndoom have been known to kill them.


	35. Terraserpens microptera

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Dunsparce, Nokochi

**Scientific Name:** _Terraserpens microptera_

**Description:** Dunsparce are thick-bodied, limbless reptiles, measuring 5 feet long and six inches thick in the middle. They are mostly dull yellow in color with pale blue bars on their back, as well as blue rings around their eyes and a blue underbelly. They have two blue barbells on their chins, used to feel ahead in darkness. Dunsparce's pale eyes have horizontal pupils.

Dunsparce have a set of white 'wings,' actually specialized, erectable scales. On the end of a Dunsparce's tail is a large, flattened spine, similar to a spade.

**Range:** Dunsparce are native to the cave systems of Johto. A population of unknown ancestry can also be found on Kin Island.

**Habitat:** Dunsparce are strictly cave dwellers, rarely leaving their networks of tunnels.

**Call**: Dunsparce are mostly silent, but when agitated or disturbed will let out a rough, explosive growl.

**Diet:** Dunsparce are carnivores, eating small pokemon such as Geodude, Shuckle, and Diglett. They will often follow their prey's scent into their burrows while they are away, then wait for them there.

**Life Cycle:** Dunsparce are not territorial. Males search out receptive females by scent, and while they may growl and bluff at other males, they rarely fight.

Female Dunsparce lay up to a dozen eggs in a burrow, and seal them in. The Dunsparce young are independent at birth, and are avid diggers by instinct. They feed off of insects as they grow, and shed their skin several times until they reach adult size.

Dunsparce may live to be up to 30 years old.

**Relationship with Humans:** Dunsparce have a naturally limited range, and are uncommon. However, they are not considered endangered.

Children's stories often portray Dunsparce as capable of flying, but of course they are not. Their apparent 'wings' are for a different purpose, as described below.

**Naturalist's Notes:** The Dunsparce's erectable dorsal scales are a form of defense. When this pokemon is threatened by a predator, such as Ursaring, it digs rapidly backwards with its tail spade, often burying itself entirely within a few seconds. If the predator is persistent, and tries to pull the Dunsparce out of its hole, it erects its scales, effectively wedging itself into the tunnel and thwarting the predator. A predator attacking from behind has a different problem: the spadelike tail, which a threatened Dunsparce will thrash around, attempting to injure the predator.


	36. Caputosteus annosus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name:** Relicanth, Glanth

**Scientific Name:** _Caputosteus annosus_

**Description:** Relicanth are medium-sized fish pokemon, measuring about 40 inches from head to tail fin. They are dull brown in color, with lighter beige patches distributed over their bodies. They have a bright red spot above the pectoral fins, which may serve to startle predators. Their beige-colored heads are heavily armored with bone, with a dorsal spike as well as check protuberances, which are larger in males. Their mouths are beaklike and toothless. Relicanth are completely blind, and their degenerate eyes are sealed under a layer of skin.

Relicanth are unusual in that their fins are not ray-finned, like most fish, but rather lobe-finned and fleshy. They have paired pectoral and pelvic fins directly next to each other, and the dorsal and anal fins mirror each other on either side of the body. The tail is broad and lobed.

**Range:** Relicanth are only known from the deep ocean trenches near Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Relicanth live in very deep, cold waters, in eternal darkness.

**Call:** Relicanth have been known to gargle deeply, but the purpose of these vocalizations is unknown.

**Diet:** While juvenile Relicanth are filter feeders, using their gill rakers to sieve plankton from the water, adult Relicanth feed on a variety of invertebrates, such as jellies, salps, and small, nonpokemon echinoderms and mollusks. Analyses of stomach contents suggest that they sometimes nip the tentacles off of Lileep, a dangerous activity for any predator!

Adapted to the resource-poor ocean bottom, these pokemon can go long periods without eating. Captive specimens have refused food for weeks without seeming to decline in condition.

**Life Cycle:** Relicanth lay eggs on rocky substrates on the ocean floor, in clutches of up to five. Captive male Relicanth have been seen to wrestle with their cheek protuberances, locking them in a slow-motion shoving match.

Relicanth are thought to be very long-lived, but their precise life span remains unknown.

**Relationship with Humans:** Relicanth are difficult to capture in their deep ocean habitats, and even more difficult to study. There are several specimens, both alive and preserved, under study, and a few have been seen in the battle trade. Their population numbers are unknown.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Relicanth are poor swimmers, and often move by 'crawling' along the bottom with their pectoral and pelvic fins. When they do swim, they can be seen hanging vertically in the water, heads pointing down, likely sensing prey by their vibrations.

The discovery of Relicanth, only a few decades ago, was very exciting in the scientific community, as fossils of the species had been unearthed for ages without finding the real pokemon. They are believed to be basal in the tetrapod evolutionary tree, very similar to the first vertebrates to emerge onto land.


	37. TiPB: Biocombustion

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Topics in Pokemon Biology: Biocombustion**

One trait widespread amongst pokemon, regardless of their actual taxonomic relationship, is biocombustion. Biocombustion results from the formation of flammable liquids and gasses within a pokemon's body, which catch fire when exposed to oxygen. Due to the reactive nature of these chemicals, biocombusting pokemon hold two or more precursor chemicals in separate sacs in the body, known as 'fire sacs,' and only mix them immediately prior to release.

Many biocombusting pokemon breathe fire through the mouth, and these species have their fire sacs located in the throat. Others secrete one of the precursors as oil on their skin or fur, then release the other precursors when needed, causing their skin to alight. Many pokemon with external fires can consciously control the amount of flame they produce, but for others it is involuntary.

The obvious challenge facing any biocombusting pokemon is to prevent itself from being burned by its own flames, in the mouth or on the skin. To cope with this, the pokemon secretes flame retardants into its tissues, and even incorporates them into its fur or scales. Thus, while the liquid or gas burns, the pokemon itself is unharmed.

Biocombustion affects more than just the individual pokemon, however. The ability to produce flame at will is a driving force in landscape dynamics, affecting every aspect of the ecosystem. This is because fires can escape, and wildfires can result at a much higher rate than would occur otherwise (note that electrogenic pokemon can cause fires as well). Some plants respond to the presence of biocombusting pokemon by becoming fire resistant. Thick bark and deep, insulated roots are common in areas where these species roam. Other plants take advantage of the clearing of brush and production of fertilizing ash by spreading their seed after fires, even producing seeds that cannot sprout without being exposed to smoke. But where biocombusting pokemon are especially common, woodlands often cannot persist at all, giving way to scrub or grassland, which can recover faster after a fire passes through.

In this way, biocombusting pokemon can be considered as ecosystem designers, and even as keystone species. Wherever they occur, the ecosystem changes in response.


	38. Carbochelone capnos

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Torkoal, Cotoise

**Scientific Name:** _Carbochelone capnos_

**Description:** Torkoal are small reptilian pokemon, measuring only 20 inches long. They are orange in color with slate gray rings around their splayed-out limbs and long neck, as well as on the crown of the head. They have a dark, domed shell covering their torso, with several bright red scutes making a striking pattern on the back. Small, slit-like pores can be seen between the shell's scutes. The plastron is also grey in color. Torkoal have three clawed toes on each foot, and small, slitted eyes above a blunt beak.

**Range:** Torkoal are endemic to the upland regions of northern Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Torkoal live in dry, open, rocky country. They will often shelter at night in tunnels, both natural and manmade.

**Call:** Torkoal are mostly silent, but when under stress will make a coughing noise.

**Diet:** Torkoal are herbivores, walking miles to feed off grasses and the rare, precious succulent. The plants they eat are often high in salts, and they excrete these excess minerals with thick, goopy, salty tears.

Torkoal savor fruit, which is hard to come by in their harsh habitat.

**Life Cycle**: Though Torkoal are capable of breeding at any point in the year, they often breed just when the year's rains start, so that their young will have more food available when they hatch. When in the breeding mood, males attempt to ram and overturn each other, a dangerous prospect for a species that has difficulty righting itself! The male that has succeeded in overturning his rival then has access to the local females.

Females lay several clutches of 3-4 eggs in a shallow hole, which she then covers up and leaves. The young are independent and capable of caring for themselves at birth. They mature slowly, and are not capable of reproduction until they are 20 years old. Torkoal may live over a century.

**Relationship with Humans:** Torkoal, though they have a naturally limited range, are not overly targeted by trainers, and are not considered endangered. They are still reasonably common in Hoenn's uplands.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Torkoal have few predators. The large predators of the areas where they frequent often do not bother with such small prey, and the small ones have great difficulty getting through this pokemon's defenses.

Not only do Torkoal have a hard, protective shell, but they are capable of biocombusion, spitting fire out of their mouths at threats. In addition, they have glands situated underneath their scutes that secrete noxious fumes, usually aerosols of irritating liquid, from small pores. Torkoal can use these fumes to shield themselves or their burrows from view, or to create a nigh-impenetrable cloak of choking gas around their bodies. The Torkoal themselves seem to be immune.

As a result of these defenses, potential predators, which in historical times included Lairon, Skarmory, and Bagon, would stay well clear. Of course, in modern times all these species have very diminished ranges, and there are very few predators that are found in Torkoal's range today.


	39. Longaminus clarus

**Disclaimer**: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: Entirely changed from its original version.

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**Common Name**: Wynaut, Sohnano (juvenile), Wobbuffet, Sonans (adult)

**Scientific Name**: _Longaminus clarus_

**Description**: Wobbuffet are highly unusual myribrachids. Their bodies are divided into two sections, the head (which bears the tentacles, eyes, brood pouch, and siphon) and the body. The body is slender and flattened, with a rounded end. It always remains the same size, but the head and tentacles are capable of inflating to an astounding degree. When at rest and 'deflated,' Wobbuffet are usually 4 feet in length, 30 inches of which is the body. It has six tentacles, the upper two of which are longer than the lower four, and a large siphon which points backward, towards the body. Wobbuffet's eyes are set directly above the brood pouch and below the siphon, and have horseshoe-shaped pupils. The brood pouch looks like a mouth, with scalloped 'lips' beneath the eyes. But Wobbuffet's true mouth is a small beak set between the four lower tentacles, and is nearly invisible in the field.

Wobbuffet are well known for their shape-changing. When a Wobbuffet feels threatened, or when it is breeding, it inflates its head, siphon, and tentacles until they are much larger than its body, and take on a distorted shape. The head expands vertically, filling with air or water, until it is 50 inches tall and 12 inches thick, its skin swelling taut. The eyes face forward in this position, and the siphon still flops backward over the top of the head. The two longer tentacles hang by the side of the brood pouch, while the four smaller tentacles remain on the ground as a brace. In this position, the Wobbuffet cannot move, though it can deflate again at any point.

Juvenile Wobbuffet are called Wynaut, and have a few differences in their appearance. They only have two sets of tentacles, lacking two of the bottom four, and their siphon faces forward instead of flopping back. They also have a 'fringe' of smaller tendrils around their bottom two tentacles, which are believed to serve a communicative or social function in the crèche. Wynaut, too, can inflate their bodies.

Both Wobbuffet and Wynaut have light blue heads and black bodies, with black and white eyespots on the body's posterior. Wynaut have a single body-eyespot, but develop another as they mature into Wobbuffet.

**Range**: Wobbuffet are native to a few cave systems in Johto, Fortune Island, and Hoenn. They have recently become established in Cerulean Cave in Kanto, where it is believed that they are captive escapes.

**Habitat**: Wobbuffet are obligate cave dwellers. That is, they can only survive in caves. On Mirage Island in Hoenn, Wynaut occasionally come to the surface during floods, but they rarely survive long when they are isolated from their habitat.

**Call:** Wobbuffet males will 'tink' and grunt during the mating season, pushing air through their siphons to make sound. Wynaut make a soft croak to keep in contact with their crèche.

**Diet**: Wobbuffet are primarily scavengers. They usually feed off of Zubat and Golbat guano, but will also eat carrion, human garbage, and pokemon eggs. Anything they can scoop into their mouths from the cave floor is fair game. They have an extremely efficient digestive system, which prevents them from becoming ill from their diets.

**Life Cycle:** Although these pokemon live in a habitat characterized by near-complete darkness, they gather in areas with slightly better lighting in the mating season, such as the mouth of the cave. Both males and females inflate, and males 'tink' loudly, pushing air through their siphons to increase the volume of their calls. The insides of the Wobbuffet's brood pouches turns bright red as blood vessels expand, and the rims of the females' pouches also go scarlet, a clear message of their readiness to breed.

After mating, the females lay a clutch of several dozen of their jellylike eggs into the male's brood pouch. He then transfers some of these back to the female, sharing the burden of caring for them. It truly is a burden, as with their brood pouches full and distended, the parents can hardly move, and usually forgo food, as they are unable to forage.

Eventually, tiny Wynaut hatch from the eggs, but still stay in their parents' brood pouches for several weeks, feeding on a milky secretion from the inside of the pouch. Often, they will stay until they cannot physically fit inside anymore. After moving out of the pouch, the Wynaut stay in 'crèches,' groups of sibling juveniles that crowd together for safety from predators. The crèche breaks up when the Wynaut reach adulthood

Wobbuffet are unusually long-lived for myribrachids, and may survive to age 50.

**Relationship with Humans**: Wobbuffet may not be particularly large, graceful, cute, or beautiful, but they have long captured the human imagination for their comical appearance. They often star in television shows for children.

Apart from this, Wobbuffet are highly desired for the arena, for their psychic abilities and their capacity to take incredible amounts of damage and survive. Their populations are low, but are still very populous on Mirage Island, which has very limited public access.

For a long time, Wobbuffet would not breed in captivity, and battle demand reduced their numbers to perhaps as low as a few thousand, mostly on Mirage Island. But in recent years, a hormone was isolated that induces female Wobbuffet to become receptive. Known by the market name of 'Lax Incense,' this compound has allowed for extensive captive breeding of this species, including for wild release. Wobbuffet are generally considered a success story for conservation.

**Naturalist's Notes**: Wobbuffet move slowly, dragging themselves across the cave floor with their tentacles. But since they are scavengers, they do not need to chase their food, and their defense mechanism does not involve speed.

Wobbuffet are well known for their psychic abilities, which mostly revolve around causing pain to any creature that so much as touches them. The psychic damage Wobbuffet cause is usually directly proportional to how much pain they themselves are in. If particularly angered, they can even prevent a predator from thinking of leaving, locking them into a war of attrition.

Wobbuffet's inflated head is astoundingly short on vital organs, with the brain and mouth down at the base of the structure, and only the eyes vulnerable to attack. Able to recover from most damage to the inflated area, Wobbuffet can bounce back from most injuries, all the while causing mental anguish to their predator. As a result, they almost always come out on top during conflicts.

Meanwhile, while the predator tries to attack Wobbuffet's inflated head, the pokemon's body is dark and blends into the cave background, with only the two eyespots visible. These may make predators think that they are being watched, even if they approach the Wobbuffet from behind. Wobbuffet, even trained, react very badly to anyone touching their bodies.


	40. Canis concitatus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Electrike, Rakurai (juvenile), Manectric, Livolt (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Canis concitatus_

**Description:** Manectric are large canid pokemon, measuring 69 inches from nose to tail and 33 inches at the shoulder. They are generally slight of build, with slender faces and long legs. They have three toes on each paw, large, pricked-up ears, and a stiff tail that becomes 'kinked' or bent upward with age. Manectric's eyes are red.

Manectric are notable for the dramatic change in fur color and pattern they undergo as they mature. Young Manectric, termed Electrike, are primarily a dull, light green in color, with yellow markings on the bridge of the muzzle, along the edges of the ears, in a stripe running down the back, and on the tip of the tail. They have large tufts of stiff fur extending from their thighs and the tops of their heads, which as Electrike are the same color green as the body. As Electrike mature into Manectric, they undergo a molt, losing their juvenile fur in patches, revealing the light blue adult fur. In Manectric, the fur tufts on the thighs and head turn yellow, as does the Manectric's whole head, except for the blue face mask and muzzle. Manectric's front feet have yellow tufts as well.

**Range:** Manectric are endemic to coastal areas of Hoenn. They were once much more widespread than they are today.

**Habitat:** Manectric are plains-dwellers, often making their homes in coastal prairies and savannahs. This is not coincidental, since Manectric, an electrogenic pokemon species, are believed to be partly responsible for the very presence of the coastal plains, as their electricity can start wildfires that clear away woody vegetation.

**Call:** Manectric have varied calls, including whines, barks, and growls.

**Diet:** Manectric are hunters of small pokemon, feeding mostly off of Zigzagoon, but also Plusle and Minun, on occasion. Wingull are also occasionally eaten. They hunt by running down their fast-moving prey, leaping into the air and coming down on them with an electrically-charged pounce. They usually hunt alone, but pairs may also hunt together.

**Life Cycle: **Manectric live in mated pairs, the male and female both defending their territory from other Manectric. Females usually lay 2-4 eggs in a den lined with furs and grass, and the blind, deaf Electrike hatch after about two months. Young Electrike are very playful once their eyes open, and become very active as they mature.

It takes about 6 months for Electrike to become independent, and two more years before they gain their adult colors and size.

Manectric can live about 15 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Manectric are not as common as they used to be. Widespread conversion of their prairie habitat to agriculture is responsible for most of this, but the battle industry also as much to answer for. Manectric are not yet considered threatened, but they are in decline over most of their range.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Manectric are well-known for being electrogenic, with their electricity-producing organs situated under the skin of the neck. When threatened, they will growl and create a prodigious display of sparks to warn away their attacker.

Manectric inhabit the same ecological niche as Mightyena, but rarely enounter them, as Mightyena are nocturnal. Still, they have been known to dig up Mightyena dens and kill the Poochyena within, as Mightyena will also do to Electrike.


	41. Aerodactylus apolithoma

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Aerodactyl, Ptera

**Scientific Name:** _Aerodactylus apolithoma_

**Description:** Aerodactyl was an unusual species, a flying reptile that was not a hexaped. Instead of flying with a sixth pair of limbs, its forelimbs were modified into wings, giving it a body structure similar to a bird or a Zubat. Their arms had four fingers, the last one of which was grossly extended, supporting a skin membrane that connected to the Aerodactyl's body. Supported by a body strut extending from the elbow, this membrane made up the Aerodactyl's wing.

Aerodactyl were large Pokemon, measuring about 11 feet long from nose to tail, and with a 23-foot wingspan. They stood 4 feet tall on all fours, using their wings as forelimbs. Aerodactyl had long tails, tipped with a cartilaginous spade, which helped balance the tail in flight. They also had a 'fin' of cartilage on their backs, believed to help stabilize the Aerodactyl in strong winds. At the end of the Aerodactyl's long neck was a large head, armed with a powerful jaw full of serrated teeth. In addition, the Aerodactyl had two bone horns, covered by thick, scaly skin. Aerodactyl had three toes on each foot, one of which pointed backwards. Their eyes were dark green, their wing membranes were light purple, and their body scales were lavender gray.

**Range:** Aerodactyl were once found throughout the mountainous regions of northern Kanto.

**Habitat:** Aerodactyl bred in the mountains, especially on peaks that surrounded montane valleys.

**Call:** Aerodactyl's aggressive cry was described as being a kind of high, gargling shriek. Their other vocalizations are unknown.

**Diet:** Aerodactyl were devoted carnivores, and were incredibly bold in their attacks of even very well defended prey. They were recorded as being wasteful, often attacking prey larger than they could carry, and leaving most of it on the ground for scavengers. Even prey up to the size of Clefable and Magmar were included in this species' diet, the Aerodactyl's serrated teeth making short work of them. Most of their diet, however, was thought to be made up of Geodude.

**Life Cycle:** Little is known of Aerodactyl breeding. This species was known to raise young in pairs, but whether they mated for life or only for a year is a mystery. Aerodactyl eggs were slightly conical, so as to not roll off their precariously perched nest, but rather to roll in a circle. Up to four young may have lived in a nest, which was described as a simple platform of sticks.

The natural lifespan of Aerodactyl is unknown.

**Relationship with Humans:** The use of past tense throughout this entry has probably made evident the fact that the Aerodactyl is no longer amongst us. The last known wild Aerodactyl was killed in 3389, and the last captive specimen died in 3394. What little we know of this species is from the notes of pioneers, woodsmen, and shepherds who attempted to graze Mareep in Aerodactyl habitat. The ferocity of the Aerodactyl's attacks on Mareep herds is well documented, and the species was quickly and efficiently exterminated.

But the story does not end there.

The current controversy over Aerodactyl revolves around several embryos kept in formaldehyde in the Pewter Museum of Science. Technology today is capable of cloning the DNA of these individuals, and may even be able to rear them to viability. The question is whether we should. The genetic diversity of these few individuals, all siblings, is very limited, and if they were to breed, the young may show inbreeding depression or genetic abnormalities. In addition, the cloned Aerodactyl may lack knowledge of how to survive in the wild.

With this in mind, the cloning of Aerodactyl may not result in viable wild populations, but only a few, valuable individuals, suitable only for captivity. Since the ferocity of Aerodactyl is commonly expounded upon, the battle industry is quite keen for this very thing to happen. There is a lot of money being offered for samples of the Aerodactyl embryos' DNA.

So, will there be Aerodactyl in the future, either in the wild or in the battle arena? Only time will tell.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Although it is not known for certain, there is evidence that Aerodactyl were preyed upon by Charizard, in the form of Aerodactyl bones found in multi-generation Charizard nests.


	42. Adamaspina cosmicos

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Modified slightly from its original version.

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**Common Name:** Dialga

**Scientific Name:** _Adamaspina cosmicos_

**Description**: Dialga is one of the largest pokemon, measuring an amazing 30 feet long and standing 7 feet tall at the shoulder. Dialga's head is held even higher, 9 feet in the air on a two-foot neck.

Dialga are impressive pokemon, even apart from their size. Immediately visible to any onlooker is the 'crest,' an enormous resonance chamber that extends from the back of the skull, sometimes twice the length of the cranium proper. Dialga have several interesting skeletal features. These include a bony ridge along the sternum, with backswept spines and a blue spot in the center, three bony plates along the back of the neck, and an impressive 'fan,' of modified vertebral spines above the pelvis, connected by fleshy webbing. A pair of very complicated, branched horns extends from either side of the head, just behind the eyes. These horns project outwards a short distance, then branch into three 'tines.' One tine, the longest, parallels the crest, sweeping backward, and another tine pokes straight up from the forehead. The final tine extends downward, curving along the jaw, then away from it. Dialga also have osteoderms (body growths embedded in the skin) around their ankles and toes, which are believed to help strengthen the foot. All of a Dialga's bony growths are light gray in color

Dialga's fine scales are midnight blue in color, with a sky blue stripe along the neck, crest, forehead, limbs, flank, and tail. Dialga's eyes are red, and are ringed with black. Their lower lips are pale grey, as are their long claws, brows, and the medial stripe down the face.

**Range:** Dialga are endemic to Sinnoh, and were once widespread throughout the region.

**Habitat:** Dialga's natural habitat is Sinnoh's lowland forests. However, habitat destruction and disturbance have pushed these top predators into more upland regions. Today, they can be found in the Spear Pillar Range.

**Call:** Dialga are renowned for their call, an echoing, trumpeting roar amplified by the resonance chambers extending from the backs of their heads. So awe-inspiring was this call to early peoples that it was poetically named as the 'Roar of Time,' a moniker that remains today.

Female Dialga hum and _oooooh_ to keep in contact with their young.

**Diet: **Dialga are herbivorous, and browse on treetops and shrubs with their wrinkled, flexible upper lips. . They eat an immense amount of food: over 600 pounds of foliage per day!

**Life Cycle:** Dialga require a lot of food, and territories with abundant browse are at a premium. Dialga defend their territories by roaring, advertising their fitness and size with the quality of their voices. If one Dialga wishes to challenge another, it must go through a series of ritualized movements, spreading its fan, strutting, and tossing its head. If display is not enough, the Dialga wrestle, locking horns and pushing back and forth. Occasionally, they cannot disengage after such a match, and end up stuck together by the horns until they starve.

During the mating season, male Dialga become more lenient in their territoriality, allowing females in for a short while. After breeding, she is expulsed again.

Dialga are one of the few pokemon that give live birth. Females gestate for 13 months, then give birth to a single 7-foot long baby, which is nearly helpless and lacks most of the bony projections of the adult. The female secludes her child in dense undergrowth to protect it from predators, and feeds it for up to a year.

Dialga take up to 8 years to mature, and can live to be over 60.

**Relationship with Humans:** Dialga were worshipped by ancient people as the god of time. Many antique sundials and hourglasses can be seen inscribed with images of Dialga, and a famous archeological find, the 'Adamant Orb,' is believed to be a type of shrine to the pokemon. The species is valued today as well, but for different reasons. Dialga's size and might make it extraordinarily valuable to trainers, and it is on the verge of extinction.

Pressure on lowland populations has been slowly pushing Dialga up the mountainsides for decades, putting them into the range of the alpine Palkia. Dialga young are especially vulnerable to these predators.

Many conservation efforts are underway to try and protect this magnificent pokemon, the symbol of eastern Sinnoh, but public safety concerns and pressure from the battling industry have kept Dialga from being added to the 'threatened' list. In addition, no captive breeding efforts have been successful for this pokemon.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Fully grown Dialga have no predators, as they are well-armed with claws, spines, and a powerful tail. Young Dialga, however, can fall prey to Giratina, which seem to target them preferentially.


	43. Deoxys

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** As requested by GigaNerd17

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Common Name:** Deoxys

**Scientific Name:** None given.

**Description:** Although Deoxys are quite variable in shape, or 'forme,' certain features are common to all individuals. All Deoxys are vaguely humanoid pokemon, with a head on top of a columnar body, and tendrils coming from the 'hips' and 'shoulders.' Deoxys measure about 67 inches from head to the end of the tendrils. Depending on the forme the Deoxys takes, there may be four or two tendrils coming from the 'shoulders.' The shoulder tendrils are generally longer, thinner, and more flexible than the hip tendrils, which are thick and stocky, and usually have a ring of flared skin around where they meet the torso.

Deoxys have two types of skin, a 'silicoderm' skin, usually reddish orange or teal in color, and a 'haemoderm' skin, which is silky black and striated like muscle. The silicoderm skin is inlaid with spicules, tiny shards of silica that can be widely spaced for flexibility, or densely packed for hardness. This skin is smooth in appearance, but rough to the touch, like sandpaper. The haemoderm skin is rich with blood vessels, which gives it its color (as Deoxys' blood is black). It is less protective than the silicoderm skin, but it allows oxygen to pass through, thus increasing the Deoxys' metabolic rate.

The patterns on Deoxys' silicoderm vary, but in general, the upper shoulder tendril is reddish, and the lower one is teal. Their bodies are mostly reddish, with a blue face and three blue spots on the back.

Deoxys all have a central crystal, usually dark in color, set into their chests. This crystal is surrounded by a protective ring of muscle that can close or open, baring the crystal to the air or concealing it. The crystal is believed to play a role in Deoxys' photosynthesis.

Deoxys' head is superficially humanlike, with two eyes and two earlike projections coming from the sides of its head. But the oval eyes have black scleras, white irises, and a tiny, slit pupil. And the 'ears' are actually chemosensory organs, each with a slitlike pore that picks up scent. Also notable is a purple, vertical slit that almost splits the Deoxy's face in two. This is the Deoxys' mouth.

The most common forme shown by Deoxys is the 'normal' forme, which when at rest twines its upper and lower shoulder tendrils together. It has been seen to split the tip of its lower tendril to form a type of hand for fine manipulation. This Deoxys forme has a thin waist of haemoderm, which is the only haemoderm it shows. It has a blue stripe down the upper part of each hip tendril. Its earlike projections are blunt and square.

The 'attack' forme does not entwine its shoulder tendrils, but rather keeps them separate. It has more haemoderm than the normal forme, with haemoderm skin covering most of the upper and lower torso, though not the upper back. The attack forme has a larger blue stripe down its hip tendrils, as well as a large spine midway down each one. This forme of Deoxys has long, sweptback false ears, and a crest on the top of its head.

The 'defense' forme is unique in that it has no haemoderm, only silicoderm. It has lost its earlike projections, as well as its whole neck. Its head is instead fused with its upper torso. This forme has shoulder tendrils almost as thick as the hip tendrils, and are usually used as supportive struts. The blue markings on the hip tendrils are reduced to spots, but blue stripes are present on the shoulders.

The 'speed' forme is most notable for having only two shoulder tendrils instead of four. The right shoulder tendril is teal, and the left is reddish. The speed forme also has the most haemoderm of all the formes, with not only its entire toso but also its hip tendrils being covered by haemoderm. The blue markings on the hip tendrils, the hip flares, the shoulder tendrils, the head, the back spots, and the tissue immediately surrounding the crystal are silicoderm. The speed forme has a huge crest coming off the back of its head, and the earlike projections are bent upward and kept close to the head.

These are the four formes that are widely seen, although unusual and aberrant Deoxys are reported regularly.

**Range:** Deoxys is currently contained on Birth Island, in the Sevii Islands.

**Habitat:** Deoxys can be found in every terrestrial habitat.

**Call: **Deoxys has been recorded to make a sound like an untuned trombone.

**Diet:** Deoxys is capable of photosynthesis, concentrating light through its crystal and gaining energy from it. However, it seems to require other minerals for growth and reproduction, and will hunt and kill other pokemon to get them. It is a predator of most Sevii Island pokemon, as well as a cannibal.

**Life Cycle:** Deoxys reproduces by fragmentation, often intentional. Any piece of Deoxys that becomes detached can become an entire new Deoxys, down to fragments as small as a few inches across. Deoxys mutates at an impressive rate, and a fragment may become any of the major formes, depending on environmental cues that are not yet completely understood.

**Relationship with Humans:** The history of Deoxys has been well-described by many publications, so we will give only a brief overview here. In 3542, a meteor crashed in Hoenn. It was examined and found to contain intact, living genetic material, similar to a virus. Understandably, it was at first assumed to be terrestrial in origin, but study revealed that it was in fact completely different from any genes found on Earth. It was true extraterrestrial life.

Under culture, this material began reproducing and specializing, mutating at an unprecedented rate. Over the course of only a few years, it became multicellular, then formed into Deoxys.

Deoxys was a media sensation, and was understandably kept under close watch in captivity, in a facility on Birth Island. But despite everything, one Deoxys escaped, and reproduced in the wild. Without any natural predators, Deoxys overran the island, killing every native pokemon found there. By the time the extant of the problem was realized, eradication was impossible.

Today, Deoxys is contained on Birth Island, with sea- and air-based military outposts shooting down, collecting, and incinerating every Deoxys that strays too far. Hopefully, the barrier will hold. If not, more islands may become barren, filled with nothing but Deoxys.

Deoxys are powerfully psychic, and are as fast and strong as a pokemon trainer could ask for. However, capturing, training, and breeding Deoxys are all completely illegal, due to the danger of captive escapes. There is a powerful black market demand, and, due to the ease of transporting Deoxys fragments, several smuggling rings have been uncovered by the government.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Deoxys is not a natural part of Earth's ecosystem, and no known pokemon will eat them. On Birth Island, Deoxys eat each other, and photosynthesize. The ecology of the island is highly unstable, and it is theorized by several ecology experts that it will soon collapse.

Deoxys are very capable of swimming, though they cannot remain underwater for extended periods. In addition, only the defense forme has enough strength in its tendrils to support itself on land. As a result, Deoxys normally moves by levitation.


	44. Macroura tergimanus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Aipom, Eipam

**Scientific Name:** _Macroura tergimanus_

**Description:** Aipom are medium-sized primates, standing 30 inches tall when on two legs. They have bristly purple fur, often becoming long and shaggy on their head. Females tend to have longer, thicker fur in general. Aipom's fur does not cover its face, feet, or underbelly, exposing smooth, pale beige skin. Their ears are very large, and their eyes are dark blue in color.

Aipom have two-toed feet and small hands tipped with needlelike claws, but their most distinctive feature is undoubtedly their tail, which is as long as their body. Aipom's prehensile tail displays a highly specialized variation of multicaudality. Their tails split into three 'fingers' at the tip, and at their junction there is a large, fatty pad, analogous to the palm of a human hand. Each 'finger' is hairless and tipped with its own pad. The 'fingers' are controlled independently, and are highly sensitive to touch. The central 'finger' is largest. Aipom are capable of flexing this false hand to grab branches and objects out of reach of their arms.

**Range:** Aipom are found throughout Johto.

**Habitat:** Aipom make their homes in old growth forests, often nesting in the largest trees they can find.

**Call:** Aipom communicate with gargling, warbling chirps. If threatened, they let out piecing warning calls.

**Diet:** Aipom are primarily herbivores, with large, flat teeth. They eat a variety of fruits, nuts, seeds, and leaves. Occasionally, they eat insects and small nonpokemon, for the extra protein. They spend much of their day traveling from tree to tree, searching for food.

**Life Cycle:** Aipom are social pokemon, living in large troops, made up mostly of females, a few young males, and a dominant male. Young males leave their troop when they reach maturity and join a different troop. This male-trading system prevents incest.

The dominant Aipom mates with all females in his troop, and the females lay one egg in a woven leaf nest. It hatches fairly quickly, as Aipom troops need to move constantly. Aipom mothers are highly devoted, and spend much of their time feeding and grooming their baby.

When a new dominant male or group of males takes over a troop, they often kill any nursing infants, in order to mate with the females more quickly.

Aipom live a surprisingly long time, up to 53 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Aipom are not generally pursued by trainers, due to their small size and fragility. They are sometimes sold as pets, but their curious natures and prehensile tails often lead them to destructive habits such as tearing apart furniture, opening drawers, and throwing things.

Although their habitat is in decline, Aipom are still common wherever large trees can be found.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Aipom are extremely agile, acrobatic climbers. They treat their tails as a fifth limb, using it to anchor themselves while climbing, as a balancing aid, and as the primary means of manipulating objects. Aipom can support their entire body weight with their tails. On the ground, Aipom normally travel on all fours, but can stand and even walk on two legs. In both postures, the tail is carried over the back.

Aipom are generally nocturnal, with a keen sense of hearing and excellent night vision. However, they can be active during the day as well.

Aipom commonly fall prey to Noctowl and Crobat, nocturnal predators that snatch these smaller pokemon from the canopy.


	45. Macroura sphiximocheris

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Ambipom, Eteboth

**Scientific Name:** _Macroura sphiximocheris_

**Description:** Ambipom are large primates, standing almost 4 feet tall on two legs. Females tend to be larger than males. Their fur is deep purple in color, and does not cover their face, tail tips, or underbelly. They have longer fur on their heads, often forming bangs, and tufts of fur at the base of the tails. Their hands and feet are small, with sharp claws. Their eyes and ears are both very large, and they have a blunt muzzle with an upturned, snub nose.

Ambipom display a complex form of multicaudality. They have two main tails, and each one splits into three at the tip, with a hairless, fatty pad at the junction. The very tips of the tails are reddish and very sensitive to touch. Each prong of the tail, or 'finger,' can be moved independently to grasp.

**Range:** Ambipom are distributed throughout most of lowland Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Ambipom live in dense forest, favoring habitats with large trees.

**Call:** Ambipom let out hiccupping squeals and shrieks when excited.

**Diet:** Ambipom are frugivorous, eating a wide variety of forest fruits. They will also eat flowers, nuts, and the occasional pokemon egg. These pokemon can crack even hard-shelled nuts in the surprisingly strong grips of their tails.

**Life Cycle:** Ambipom mate promiscuously in fall, before the winter snows hit, and hold their eggs in their bodies over the long winter. In spring, females lay one egg in a tree nest, and it hatches quickly. Ambipom mothers are highly devoted to their infants, usually keeping one tail hand on them at all times.

Ambipom may live several decades, and the oldest one ever recorded was 53 years old.

**Relationship with Humans:** Ambipom are surprisingly strong, in addition to being agile and intelligent, and there is a demand in the arena. However, due to their adaptability, these pokemon are still common over much of Sinnoh.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Ambipom are very social, and the females are dominant in their social hierarchy. They live in mixed groups of interrelated individuals, with some unrelated hangers-on, and while they may not always feed in the same area, they often sleep and socialize together. Social cohesion is very important for Ambipom, and they are often seen grooming each other with their tail hands. Some Ambipom have even be seen to 'hold hands' with their tails while grooming or playing, possibly due to the touch-sensitive nature of their these appendages.

Ambipom are generally peaceful within their social group, but can be aggressive to members of other groups. It is very difficult for a lone Ambipom to integrate itself into an established group, but it can be done.

These pokemon are highly curious and intelligent, and have been seen to use leaves as sponges to absorb water, and even as umbrellas! They will often pick up and examine all new objects they encounter.

Ambipom use their tails for almost all their object manipulation as well as climbing aids, and their forelimbs lack opposable thumbs.

Ambipom are mostly nocturnal, and have keen eyes and ears. They are predated upon by Gliscor.


	46. TiPB: The Northeastern Island

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Topics in Pokemon Biology: The History of the Northeastern Island**

Some centenarians alive today still remember the 3475 eruption of Mt. Stark, the fallout of which covered all of Sinnoh with a fine layer of ash, and caused a three-year volcanic winter worldwide. The Northeastern Island was covered with lava, which hardened into igneous rock. The eruption destroyed almost the entire ecosystem of the island, wiping the slate clean.

The Sinnoh government bought back the ruined land from the island's few surviving inhabitants, and for several decades the island remained in government control. But 40 years ago, the booming pokemon battle trade saw the founding of Battle Frontier™ Incorporated in Hoenn. This company saw promise in an empty landscape, and bought the Northeastern Island with the intent of turning it into a deluxe trainer's resort.

Naturally, the island would have been recolonized by flying and swimming pokemon from mainland Sinnoh, over thousands of years. But Battle Frontier™ Inc. was not satisfied with waiting. The company imported numerous pokemon species to the island and its surrounding waters, most not native to Sinnoh, for a greater tourist draw. The effort was justified by saying that little remained of the Northeastern Island's original fauna, although this was not entirely true. Several pokemon species survived by remaining underground during the eruption, including a tiny remnant of the island's endemic Heatran.

Regardless, the project was viewed as a wild success, and has earned Battle Frontier™ Industries billions. The Northeastern Island is now overrun with non-native pokemon, though some native species still hang on.


	47. Armatuavis sanguineus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Skarmory, Airmd

**Scientifi****c Name:** _Armatuavis __sanguineus_

**Description:** Skarmory is a fairly large, flying reptile, measuring 7 feet long, standing 4 ½ feet tall, and with a 16 ½ -foot wingspan. They are unusual in that they do not achieve flight by using a third set of limbs, but rather have modified their front limbs into wings like a Zubat's. However, Skarmory wings are not the same in structure as those of the similar-appearing Aerodactyl, which had a wing held taut by a single wing strut, actually a modified finger. Rather, Skarmory have four wing struts, with membranes between them. However, unlike as in Zubat, Skarmory's wing membranes do not connect to the leading edges of the wing struts' tips. Rather, they connect to the trailing edges of the tips, then to the third joint of the next wing strut. The effect of this is to give the wings a serrated edge.

Skarmory are plated by thick, leathery armor, with visible segments on the neck and long legs. Skarmory have a broad shield on the head topped with a hollow, triangular bone crest. Skarmory's tail is stiff and rudderlike, slender and flattened laterally, with a bottom flange. They have three toes, one pointed backward. Skarmory have a long, sharp bill, with pointed teeth set into the lower jaw.

Skarmory's eyes have yellow sclera, and deep blue irises, a coloration that gives the pokemon a slightly crazed expression. Skarmory's body can be any of several shades of gray (the Kanjoh subspecies has a bluish tint), with darker gray on the neck, legs, and tail. The wing membranes behind the second finger are blood red in color.

**Range:** Skarmory are naturally found in two separate populations, which have been genetically distinct for at least a hundred thousand years. The first is found in the Kanjoh area, and the second is endemic to Hoenn's uplands. There is also a Sevii Island population, found only on Quest Island, which is genetically similar to the Hoenn population, and likely blew over in a storm. Kanjoh-type Skarmory have also been introduced to Sinnoh's Northeastern Island.

**Habitat: **Skarmory live in high country, favoring plateaus, mountain ranges, and ridgetops. They often nest in bramble thickets.

**Call:** When nesting, Skarmory sing a tinkling, high warble. When aggravated, they shriek gratingly.

**Diet:** Skarmory are obligate carnivores, dining on a variety of smaller pokemon. Their main food sources are Sandshrew in Hoenn, and Geodude in Johto. Meowth and Numel make up important parts of their diets in the Sevii Islands and the Northeastern Island, respectively.

Skarmory are quite bold in their pursuit of prey, and mated pairs will often work together, one distracting a protective mother Ursaring, while the other goes for the exposed young. This technique is also used against Tyranitar and Donphan.

Skarmory will also readily scavenge, and follow large hunters such as Groudon and Entei, to feed on their leftovers. Small hunters such as Persian may even be chased away from their kill, but even a Skarmory knows better than to pester a Groudon!

**Life Cycle:** Skarmory form mated pairs in early spring, and nest together on high cliffs. Mated pairs often stay together for several years, and some stay paired for life.

Skarmory are well-known for using bramble thickets for shelter and nesting material, which protects their eggs and chicks from most predators. They themselves are born with thick enough skin that the brambles are no more than a mild irritation. The hatchlings also have a coating of fluffy down, which soon scratches off. This feature caused Skarmory to be classified for a long time as birds.

Skarmory hunt together to feed 2-4 chicks, and are very territorial both towards other Skarmory and to any sort of predator. Young fledge in 5 months, but take longer to reach sexual maturity.

Skarmory are long lived, and may survive 50 years or more.

**Relationship with Humans:** Skarmory, due to their aggressive behavior and striking red wings, were often vilified by early peoples. Their tendency to kill captive Mareep did not help this impression, and they were exterminated from many areas. There was also demand for their thick hide for tanning, and Skarmory leather was for many years very valuable. The battle trade has prevented their populations from rebounding, but they seem to have stabilized. They are not yet considered endangered, and are doing well where they were introduced in the Northeastern Island.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Skarmory have a distinctive aggressive display, crouching and displaying the bright red on its wings. If you see this display, back off! You may be near a nest, and Skarmory are vicious in protection of their nests, to the point that many areas are closed to the public during Skarmory nesting season.

**A/N**: I tried out making Skarmory a bird… but I couldn't get the body shapes to work. So, it's a Wyvern-like reptile instead. Go figure.


	48. Gracilifelis tortilecaudus

Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name:** Glameow, Nyarmar

**Scientific Name:**_ Gracilifelis tortilecaudus_

**Description:** Glameow are small feline pokemon, measuring 10 inches at the shoulder and 50 inches long, 30 inches of which is tail. Glameow's extremely long tail is prehensile, often held above the body in a twisted coil when not being used for climbing. Glameow have long necks for their size, with the head often held alertly a good six inches above the body. The ears and eyes are large, and the paws are slender with retractable claws.

Glameow are usually a shade of slate gray, with white paws, white tips to the ears, a white muzzle, and a white tuft on the end of the tail. Wild Glameow usually have shaggy, rather unkempt fur, but captive ones are usually groomed to have feathering on the neck, elbows, and ankles. They have long whiskers, and blue eyes with yellow sclera. Glameow's eyelids are hairless, pink, and very expressive.

**Range:** Glameow are native to Sinnoh's western lowlands, though captive escapes have persisted in the eastern part of the region as well.

**Habitat:** Glameow live in both closed and open woodlands. They spend most of their time in the canopy, and make their dens in tree hollows. Glameow can also be found in suburban areas and parks, where they may inhabit attics.

**Call:** Glameow's most common cry is a bouncy hiccup, so high-pitched it's almost a squeak. They will also purr when content and growl when aggravated.

**Diet:** Glameow are hunters of small, nonpokemon vertebrates, though they will occasionally take young Chatot. They hunt in the canopy, usually at dawn and dusk, stealthily creeping up on their prey.

**Life Cycle:** Glameow live mostly solitary lives, interacting with other Glameow in the breeding season in early spring. They display several interesting behaviors while courting, including flashing their eyelids and weaving, entwining, and flicking their tails. The white tail tuft is believed to be crucial in this communication, as Glameow that lose the tips of their tails rarely breed.

Glameow kittens hatch in litters of two to five. They are helpless and blind, but develop quickly. They will leave their tree-cavity nests to hunt with their mothers in just ten weeks, and leave entirely just a few weeks later.

Glameow may live 16 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Although they are not the easiest pokemon to care for, Glameow are popular pets in Sinnoh. Despite collection for the pet trade, Glameow are still fairly abundant, as they will live in disturbed areas and secondary growth. Wild Glameow have even been found in suburban areas and parks, though these may be domestic escapes. These feral populations are sometimes maintained by feeding from well-intentioned neighbors, but are considered pests by others.

There is no great arena demand for this pokemon.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Glameow are slightly psychic, able to cause drowsiness and loss of focus in predators, such as Staraptor. They also show an unusual ability also found amongst other felids, that of mimicking other pokemon's behaviors without seeing them first, likely by reading them directly from the other pokemon's memories.


	49. Tigrifelis robustus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Purugly, Bunyatto

**Scientific Name:** _Tigrifelis robustus_

**Description:** Purugly are midsized feline pokemon. They are extremely squat and stocky, with legs much shorter than would be expected for their size. Purugly measure just over three feet long from nose to sacrum, but the tail adds an additional four feet. They stand only 18 inches at the shoulder.

Purugly are slate gray in color, with white markings on the forelegs, white paws, a white face, a white chest and upper back, and a white tuft on the end of the forked tail. The tufted tips of their large ears are purple, as are their eyelids. Purugly's eyes are yellow.

Purugly have long whiskers and broad, barrel chests. The tail is prehensile, and usually held twisted and coiled over the back. When it is not used to hold something, the forked tuft of fur on the end of the tail drapes limply over the Purugly's sides.

**Range:** Purugly are native to eastern Sinnoh and the Northeastern Island, where a small, remnant population survives.

**Habitat:** Purugly live in lowland, coastal forests and scrubland.

**Call:** Purugly's call is a loud, _mmmrrrrrrr-AAOW_, which it gives when aggravated.

**Diet:** Purugly are carnivores, hunting small pokemon such as Mime Jr and nesting Wingull. They will also fish for Remoraid, not minding the water. Purugly generally hunt at dawn and dusk, and often carry their kills back to their dens with their prehensile tails before eating them.

**Life Cycle:** Purugly are by nature solitary, and males and females interact very little, even during the mating season. Female Purugly lay clutches of 3-5 eggs in an underground den, which shortly hatch into helpless kittens. They leave the den after seven weeks, and are soon expulsed from their mother's territory.

Purugly may live 17 years.

**Relationship With Humans:** Purugly are rarely expressly targeted by trainers, as they tend to be stubborn and disobedient. But, perhaps surprisingly, there is a booming pet trade for this species. This may be because captive Purugly can be quite docile when they receive a steady supply of food. Purugly fanciers often note how they become almost 'pillow-like,' often lying in one spot for hours and ignoring most stimuli.

Habitat destruction is a concern for this pokemon, since its lowland habitats are under great development pressure. They are not currently considered threatened, but their small range means they should be watched carefully.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Purugly den on the ground, often taking den sites from Floatzel, whether they have already been vacated or not! Their audacity sometimes seems to know no bounds, and inexperienced Purugly have even been observed trying to steal a den from a pride of Luxray! Understandably, the Purugly come off for the worse in such encounters.


	50. Nudabuccae musculus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: Happy 50th chapter, everybody! At this rate, only like, 350 more to go…

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Common Name:** Pichu (juvenile), Pikachu (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Nudabuccae musculus_

**Description:** Pikachu are rotund rodents, measuring 27 inches long from nose to tail, and standing 18 inches tall when rearing on two legs. They have long, pointed ears and short muzzles. Their tails are unusual in that they 'kink,' with the vertebrae set against other vertebrae at angles. This gives the tail its distinctive, 'lightning bolt' shape, a feature that is accentuated by a tuft of fur at the end of the tail. In females, this tuft thins out at the tip, giving the tail a 'notched' appearance. Due to the interlocking, warped vertebrae, Pikachu tails are highly inflexible, and usually only move at the base.

Pichu, the Pikachu's young, have broader ears in comparison to their bodies. Their tails are much smaller, and less kinked. The tails grow longer and develop their 'lightning bolt' shape during adolescence.

Pikachu are bright yellow in color, with black stripes on the back, black tips to the ears, a brown base of the tail and, in the subspecies _N. musculus principialis, _darker feet and a lighter underbelly. Pichu are a paler yellow, with a black tail, black edging on the ears, and a ragged black collar around the neck.

Both Pikachu and Pichu have notable electrogenic organs, which are located in the cheeks, and protrude as reddish, hairless patches of skin.

**Range:** Pikachu have a restricted native range, found only in western Kanto. However, they have been introduced to other parts of Kanto, as well as Hoenn and Sinnoh, where they sometimes become pests.

**Habitat:** Pikachu live in open woodlands and shrublands, and can be found in developed, suburban areas as well.

**Call:** Pikachu's most common call is a squeak, but they also have several shrieking alarm cries. When angered they will growl.

**Diet:** Pikachu are herbivores, feeding on a variety of grasses, herbs, seeds, and fruits. They are unusual in that they process their food, using electricity to heat up certain berries to make them more digestible and to destroy toxic compounds.

**Life Cycle:** Pikachu live in colonies, usually situated in an open area and made up of a few to dozens of males and females alongside their young. Males often fight over their position in the group, and low-ranking males will sometimes leave if they cannot find any breeding opportunities.

Pikachu are extremely fecund, with females laying up to nine eggs three times a year! Pichu hatch already furred and active, and soon leave the nesting burrow. Female Pichu have a more stable place in the colony than males, which must fight their way into the hierarchy when they mature into Pikachu.

Pikachu may live 11 years in captivity, but often have a shorter lifespan in the wild.

**Relationship with Humans:** Exceedingly popular pets, Pikachu have been exported widely from Kanto as house pokemon. Their wild, native populations are low and dropping, but because they will live in heavily disturbed areas they are not yet considered threatened. In addition, Pikachu are becoming invasive in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Large Pikachu colonies are often considered vermin, as Pikachu will raid crops, set fires, and ruin electrical equipment. They are usually either exterminated, or captured and sold at auction.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Pikachu are well known as being electrogenic, and their black and yellow coloration is a clear warning for any predator. Indeed, these pokemon will quickly deliver a painful shock to predators, and will even gang up and 'mob' threats such as Beedrill or Noctowl, quickly driving them away from the colony.

Pikachu are very social, often allogrooming and rubbing bodies with other colony members. Their distinctive tails are held up into the air to keep in sight contact with each other in tall grass, and they will share their burrows even with unrelated Pikachu.


	51. Aduncacaudus macromus

**Disclaimer**: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name**: Raichu

**Scientific Name**: _Aduncacaudus macromus_

**Description**: Raichu are very large rodents, measuring 7 feet long (over half of which is tail), and standing 31 inches tall on two legs. Raichu have proportionally long hind legs that allow them to leap rapidly over open terrain, and their long tails are stiff and whiplike, enhancing their balance at high speeds. Unlike their Pikachu relatives, only the tips of their tails are kinked, but like them the feature is enhanced by tufts of fur. Female Raichu have smaller tufts, which makes their tails seem slimmer and shorter. Raichu have dark eyes and distinctive ears, triangular with a long tuft of fur on their trailing edge.

Raichu's fur color is goldenrod yellow, with a pale underside and dark brown markings, including brown paws, a brown tail with a bright yellow tip, brown stripes on the back, and brown ears with bright yellow interiors. Raichu also have pale yellow, hairless patches of skin on their cheeks, which conceal their electrogenic organs.

**Range**: Raichu are native to eastern Kanto, but their range is fragmented.

**Habitat**: Raichu live in open country, such as plains and savannahs.

**Call**: Raichu's call is a low, squawking buzz. They also grunt.

**Diet**: Raichu are mostly herbivores, feeding on grasses, herbs, seeds, and roots. They may very occasionally eat insects.

**Life Cycle**: Raichu breed in early spring, when females scent mark the edges of their territories to draw in males. She lays 3-4 eggs in a burrow lined with her own fur. The eggs hatch in a month, and the young are fully active at birth, soon following their mother as she forages. They become independent when about half grown.

Raichu are solitary, each individual maintaining a complex of burrows, entrances, and emergency exits.

Raichu can live up to 13 years.

**Relationship with Humans**: Due to a combination of development and arena demand, wild Raichu are currently considered endangered, and capturing them is prohibited. The Cerulean Cape, one of the last places Raichu could be legally caught, has recently experienced a population crash, and capturing is now outlawed there.

**Naturalist's Notes**: Raichu are quite speedy, capable of hitting 40 mph on a straight track. They need to be, as swift predators such as Arcanine and Charmeleon are or used to be quite populous in their habitat.

Raichu are dangerously electrogenic pokemon, capable of killing a human being with a shock. When feeling aggressive, they perk their ears straight up, and keeping alert for this sign can save a naturalist's life. Still, Raichu prefer to run than fight.

It is easy to know when Raichu inhabit an area, due to the presence of 'runways,' areas between burrows or near food sources that have been so heavily trafficked by Raichu that the grass has worn away, creating clearly visible paths. The ease of finding them this way may have led to their current rarity.


	52. Cuspiserpens pusillacrus

**Disclaimer**: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Edited from its original version.

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**Common Name**: Seviper, Habunake

**Scientific Name:** _Cuspiserpens pusillacrus_

**Description:** Seviper are very large snake pokemon, measuring almost 9 feet long and 7 inches thick. Their heads are triangular, with a thick, short crest on the back. Seviper are notable for their 6-inch fangs, which cannot be contained inside the pokemon's mouth, but rather hang outside. Seviper's distinctive tail ends in a fleshy dorsal flange and a blade made out of enamel on the its underside. When slithering, the fangs fold back, though they remain outside the mouth, and the tail fin is held twisted sideways so as not to impede motion. Seviper have six 'traction scutes,' large, projecting scales along their undersides used to aid motion.

Seviper are dusty black in color, with several colorful markings. From the top of the head down the spine are large, gold-colored diamond markings, each with another diamond outlined within. The lower jaw is similarly gold, as is a ring around the eyes and the traction scutes. There are purple, slashlike markings on the muzzle and throat and a purple ring at the base of the flange. The enamel of the tail's blade is bright red, as are the fangs and eyes. These colors are believed to serve as a warning against potential predators.

**Range: **Seviper's natural range is eastern Hoenn, but persecution has pushed the species into a tiny fraction of its range.

**Habitat:** Seviper live in riparian areas, near lakes, rivers, and wetlands. They require proximity to upland areas for nesting.

**Call:** Seviper let out a series of staccato, dry hisses when agitated.

**Diet:** Seviper are carnivores, subduing large prey with their venom, and simply constricting small prey. They generally hunt either aquatic pokemon or terrestrial ones that come to drink by the waters they inhabit. Seviper eat any pokemon they can fit into their extremely flexible jaws, including Surskit, Lotad, Lombre, Nuzleaf, Marill, and Zangoose.

**Life Cycle:** During the dry season, Seviper mate, the males engaging in a surprisingly intricate ritual combat. They begin by scraping their tails through the undergrowth, causing a distinctive dry rustling. This summons both male combatants and females interested in mating. The males raise their heads, showing the purple throat markings, and may strike at each other with their mouths closed and fangs pulled back. They then rear as high as they can, and push against each other, sometimes entwining in their efforts. Eventually, one male will submit.

The female Seviper lays an enormous clutch, sometimes containing several dozen eggs, in a burrow she excavates far from the water where the adults spend most of their lives. She then goes down into the burrow and broods, clenching her muscles around her clutch to generate heat. Brooding females, it should be noted, are notoriously aggressive.

The young pokemon hatch by the start of the wet season, and their exhausted, emaciated mother leads them down to the water. They then part, and female Seviper show no recognition of their young after this point. She may have to wait 2-3 years to regain breeding condition, astounding considering Seviper live only around 20 years. Hatchling Seviper have no venom, but quickly develop it as they shed their skin and grow.

**Relationship with Humans:** Seviper were well-respected by ancient peoples, for their bright colors and for their powerful venom. Though their teeth, blades, and skins were used in rituals, they were only rarely hunted.

Today, this respect of Seviper has turned into outright fear, and the snakes have been exterminated from many areas as safety hazards. Today, they are found mostly in parks and reserves, and are rarely legally available for capture, though they are highly desirable in the arena.

Seviper feature in several of Hoenn's folktales, mostly pertaining to their 'rivalry' with the Zangoose. These stories are usually morality tales on the futility of revenge, but are based in reality, as Seviper will prey on Zangoose as commonly as Zangoose prey on Seviper.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Seviper are excellent swimmers, using their flange and blade as a fin. But their blade is also a weapon, and Seviper often are seen sharpening their blades on a favored whetstone. In addition, the inside of this pokemon's blade is inlaid with microscopic grooves, which transmit venom into any wound they create. Unlike as with the venom in Seviper's fangs, the release of this toxin is automatic and unconscious.

The venoms have more or less the same effects, creating immense pain, tissue destruction, internal hemorrhaging and eventual death. But they require different antivenins, so if you are injured by a Seviper, remember which end hurt you!

When threatened, Seviper take on a distinctive defensive posture, scrunching up their bodies into several humps, raising the tail blade straight up like a flag, and raising the head. This allows the Seviper to strike quickly from two directions, and best shows off its warning coloration.

As adults, Seviper's only predators are Zangoose, but when young they may be picked off by Whiscash or Crawdaunt.


	53. Labrusca dendrodiameno

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N: **There's been some confusion about the nature of the world described in this guide. So, I'm going to clear things up. This is basically my reinterpretation of Pokemon.

The 'world' about which I'm writing this guide is not exactly the same as that of the pokemon anime or the games, though it takes inspiration from both. Imagine a real world, much like our own, except their animals just so happen to be quite different from the ones on Earth. On this world, one country (at least), composed of several regions, has a national sport that we would probably find horrifying: capturing wildlife and making them fight each other. A great deal of energy, research and publicity, as well as government sanction, goes into this sport, and it has ancient roots in the country's culture.

These animals, due to the proliferation of 'pocket ball' technology, which convert living things into data and back, are known as 'pocket monsters,' or 'pokemon' in modern slang.

In this world, some of these pokemon species are more powerful than others, just by nature. These were often revered by the country's traditional cultures, and many myths and legends surround them. These are the 'legendaries.' They are not unique. They are very rare, mainly due to over-collection by zealous trainers (as participants in the sport are called). They are very powerful, many of them deadly to humans and difficult to control. But they are not gods.

As a side note, a 'virtual' version of the sport was invented in this world not long ago, and the resulting game and its sequels are extremely popular amongst young children who do not yet have their pokemon training license. A popular television series was also made about pokemon training. However, these media are cartoonized and self-aggrandizing, minimizing the dangers and realities of the sport, and have about as much connection to the real world of pokemon as the 'Roadrunner' cartoon has to Earth's ecosystems.

I hope that makes things clearer.

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**Common Name:** Tangela, Monjara

**Scientific Name:** _Labrusca dendrodiameno_

**Description:** Tangela are very strange pokemon. Standing 39 inches tall on two legs, the shape of their body is almost entirely obscured by a tangle of specialized scales, known as tendrils, that to all outside appearances look like green-blue vines. Each one of these is prehensile and capable of independent movement, and contains symbiotic colonies of blue-green cyanobacteria, giving them their color. Every part of Tangela's body is covered by these tendrils, except for the feet and the area directly around the eyes.

Tangela's body, underneath the vines, is short and squat, with highly atrophied forelimbs that are normally hidden by the tendrils. Their mouths are similarly hidden, though their large, luminous eyes are always visible. Their feet are usually visible when the Tangela is standing on the ground, and are bright red. On the ground, the feet are usually twisted to the side with the toes curled underneath.

**Range:** Tangela are found in two areas: the southern portion of Kanto and the lower reaches of the Blackthorn Mountains. How these two populations were originally linked is unknown.

**Habitat:** Tangela live in old growth forests with dense canopies. They stay in the treetops, and rarely touch the ground.

**Call:** When threatened, Tangela will grunt roughly. They are otherwise silent.

**Diet:** Tangela get almost all the energy they need from the cyanobacteria in their tendrils, but for extra nutrients they will occasionally eat leaves and fruits. Like many plant symbionts, they will not turn down carrion.

**Life Cycle:** Unlike many plant symbionts, Tangela are not born containing their partner species. Rather, they are born with pale white tendrils, and must acquire their cyanobacteria from the environment, usually from a pond, river, or lake. If they are unable to, they quickly starve.

Female Tangela do not care for their young, burying their eggs in the soil in late summer to hatch the next spring. This is one of the very few times Tangela will descend from the canopy.

Tangela are not territorial, and in areas where they are common they will often share trees.

Tangela can live up to 25 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Tangela are not generally pursued for the arena, being generally nonagressive an unoffensive pokemon. However, logging of the old growth that they need to survive has decimated their population, and secondary growth forests do not have enough canopy to support this species.

Due to Tangela's bare, smooth feet, they are often depicted in media as wearing boots. However, this is simply the color of Tangela's skin, not any sort of covering.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Tangela can often be seen with their tendrils entangled in the branches of the canopy during the day, soaking in the sunlight. They then forage at night, spotting soft edibles with their enormous, forward-facing eyes. They move extremely slowly, often shifting only one tendril at a time.

Tangela have few direct predators, but some pokemon will tear off and eat their nutrient-rich tendrils, including Mr. Mime, Aipom, and Lickitung. Tangela rarely die from light grazing, as they can regenerate lost tendrils. However, they may become seriously damaged if the foragers bite off too many. To prevent this, the Tangela will writhe their tendrils to warn off attackers, and if very stressed will secrete chemicals that cause sleepiness and even muscle paralysis in the pokemon that try to eat them.


	54. Labrusca actenistos

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name:** Tangrowth, Mojumbo

**Scientific Name:** _Labrusca actenistos_

**Description:** Tangrowth are large pokemon, standing 79 inches tall on two legs. Like their smaller relatives the Tangela, Tangrowth's body is almost entirely covered by specialized, vine-like scales called 'tendrils.' These tendrils support colonies of cyanobacteria, which provide the Tangrowth's deep blue-green color. Tendrils cover the pokemon's body and head, and shorter, nearly flat tendrils cover the long forelimbs. The space around the eyes are uncovered, as are the lower limbs, and the Tangrowth's black skin can be seen in these areas.

Tangrowth's toes and fingers are colored deep red. The fingers are tipped with long yet blunt claws, also colored red. These claws are longer in females. Tangrowth's eyes are very large (measuring six inches across) and are usually white in color.

**Range:** Tangrowth are found in southern Sinnoh, today mostly in protected areas.

**Habitat**: Tangrowth live in lowland forests and wetlands.

**Call:** Tangrowth are known to gargle, grunt, and rasp.

**Diet:** Tangrowth get much of the energy they need from their symbiotic cyanobacteria, but also feed from vegetation and the occasional carcass. They use their long, curved claws to pull down branches holding ripe fruit.

**Life Cycle:** Tangrowth breed in early spring, when males mate with all females in the area. Their mating is promiscuous, and males do not compete with each other for mates.

Female Tangrowth do not care for their offspring, and abandon their clutch of 4-7 eggs in a burrow they dig with their long claws. The young hatch pale yellow, without any symbiotic cyanobacteria in their tendrils. They must quickly gather their symbionts from the environment, if they are to survive.

Winter is difficult for Tangrowth, and the pokemon often to into torpor, not moving from a secluded area for days at a time. They do not enter true hibernation, however, and still feed and photosynthesize throughout the winter months.

Tangrowth may live up to 32 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Tangrowth are not aggressive, but possess surprising strength, and can take a lot of physical trauma. As a result, the battle trade has been harsh on Tangrowth, depleting them from much of their range. Their largest surviving population is found in the Great Marsh, where capturing is legal but limited.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Tangrowth are too large for most of the predators that remain in their ecosystem, but their tendrils are often grazed by Heracross and introduced Tropius. Another semi-predator is Lickilicki, which depend heavily on Tangrowth tendrils in the winter. A hungry Lickilicki can completely defoliate a Tangrowth, effectively killing it. However, Tangrowth can regenerate lost tendrils or even whole limbs, as long as they do not lose too many tendrils at once. Tangrowth were also once preyed upon by Giratina, which ate only the meat, leaving a pile of tendrils as a telltale sign of their predation.

Tangrowth can control the movements of their tendrils independently, though they are not prehensile as they are in Tangela. They will swing the tendrils at predators to deter them.

Tangrowth are mainly active at night, resting and photosynthesizing during the day.


	55. Acerbacanis cerberus

**Disclaimer**: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name**: Houndour, Delvil (juvenile/subdominant) Houndoom, Hellgar (adult/dominant)

**Scientific Name: **_Acerbacanis cerberus_

**Description:** Houndoom are large canid pokemon, measuring 7 ½ feet long (including the tail) and standing 30 inches at the shoulder. They have long, slender legs and faces, as well as a long tail tipped with a cartilaginous spade. Houndoom have two white, curving horns arcing back from their heads, which are smaller in females.

Houndoom's young, Houndour, are similar in appearance, but have much smaller tails without spades, lack horns, and are generally stockier in appearance. Houndour have similar coloration to Houndoom, both having black fur, with an orange underbelly and muzzle. They also have pale rings around their ankles. But there are differences. Houndour have a white forehead, with two black eyebrow spots, while Houndoom have white markings on their chests, in a distinctive 'death's head' pattern. The eyes are red in both life stages.

Both Houndoom and Houndour have a very unusual skeletal feature: secondary ribs that project outside the body with only a white horn sheath to protect them. These ribs are derived from the pokemon's vertebral spines, and overlap their normal ribs.

**Range:** Houndoom were originally native to much of Johto, but have been introduced to Kanto and eastern Sinnoh, where they have formed local packs.

**Habitat**: Houndoom live in forests, woodlands, and savannahs.

**Call:** Houndoom have a variety of calls, including growls, snarls, grunts, whines, and of course howls, which serve to cement pack bonding.

**Diet:** Houndoom are predators, hunting in tightly-coordinated packs. Working together and keeping in contact with their calls, they can take down even powerful prey such as Kadabra and Girafarig. Like other pack hunting, biocombusting pokemon, Houndoom will use fire to spook and drive their prey towards ambush, as well as to blind their prey's night vision. Doing this, they can even take down Rapidash, which otherwise could easily outrun them.

Of course, Houndoom can also hunt alone, though the prey taken when hunting solo are often much smaller, such as Rattata or Jigglypuff.

**Life Cycle:** Houndoom are social, and the social standing of an individual determines its breeding rights. This often has an actual, physical effect on the pokemon, as less dominant, 'omega' Houndour may mature into Houndoom later than their fellows, or even not at all! However, these individuals _will_ mature if brought into captivity, which seems to indicate that it is the presence of a dominant Houndoom that retards their growth.

Houndoom are well known for their infighting, with both males and females using their horns and teeth to defend their places in the hierarchy. The pokemon are frequently injured but rarely killed in these fights. The most common injury is the ripping and tearing of ears, and adult Houndoom often have both ears missing.

Hondoom do not have a breeding season, though each female may come into heat once or twice a year. The most dominant female will often try to stop the most dominant male from mating with other females, not wanting resources to be used for young other than her own. The most dominant male acts similarly with the subordinate males.

Houndoom lay large clutches, up to six eggs at once. However, competition between siblings is fierce, and only one or two survive to weaning, usually dominating their mother's milk and thus starving their siblings.

Houndoom can live up to 13 years in captivity, and much less in the wild.

**Relationship with Humans:** Houndoom are one of the most feared pokemon in Johto folklore, far beyond the actual danger they present. Its hunting howl was said to summon the Grim Reaper, and the pain of its flames was said to never heal. And while it is true that one should not treat Houndoom carelessly, they are certainly not the demons that stories make them out to be. Unfortunately for the Houndoom, this fear has resulted in their persecution over large parts of their range (and their predation on domestic Miltank and Tauros does not help).

Houndoom, though considered difficult to train, are well-admired in the arena, to the extant that they have been nearly collected to extinction in Johto. They are now protected, and it is illegal to capture Houndoom in their native range. However, well-meaning breeders have released their stock in Sinnoh and Kanto, trying to establish new populations. Unfortunately, prey species in Kanto and Sinnoh are not adapted to predation by Houndoom, and the pokemon is now considered a pest in Sinnoh.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Although they may be found in the day as well, Houndoom are most active at night, when they hunt.

As noted above, Houndoom often lose their ears in pack conflicts, but even if they don't, fashion decrees that most trainers crop their Houndoom's ears anyway.

The biocombustion gas Houndoom create contains sulfur, which gives them a distinctive 'brimstone' smell. To disguise this odor, the Houndoom often roll in pungent-smelling matter. Looking for these rolling sites can confirm the presence of Houndoom in the area.


	56. TiPB: Pokemon Conservation

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**

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Topics in Pokemon Biology: Pokemon Conservation**

It is evident that the pokemon of our world are in trouble. Habitat destruction and pollution have taken their toll, robbing pokemon of clean places to live, feed, and reproduce. Of course, some pokemon are better at adapting to human presence than others, and some, such as Muk, have even benefited from the wastes we produce. But the trend has generally been downward.

But perhaps the greatest threat to pokemon in the modern day is the battle trade. The desire to 'Catch 'Em All' is a fever amongst young people, sending masses of trainers into wild areas, pokeballs in hand. Stronger pokemon are quickly captured and brought into captivity, robbing wild populations of their fittest individuals. But even more damaging is pokemon training, which often involves allowing trained pokemon to attack wild ones, injuring them severely and leaving them to die. Scavengers are often much more common in areas frequented by trainers, and few other species can be found.

Mature adult pokemon are often the first ones taken, leaving younger and younger adults to reproduce. More and more, juveniles have been seen rearing young before they mature completely, an adaptation to collection pressure that leaves them vulnerable due to lessened reproductive success.

Species that are considered especially strong in the arena, dubbed 'legendaries' in an obvious marketing scheme, are hunted avidly, and every so-called legendary is considered endangered.

But not all is bad news. Captive breeding has been making great strides with most species, and most domestic, pet pokemon are born in captivity. Reintroduction schemes for several rare species are already under way, and reintroductions of Jigglypuff have been extremely successful.

In addition, limits can be set on wild capture. Many areas have been set aside for protection from capturing and battling, and others have catch limits. Some areas are designated as 'Safari Zones,' where limited capturing but not battling is allowed. In many of the most popular training grounds, the 'wild' pokemon are actually stocked from captive breeding operations. One popular move has been to declare that only male pokemon may be captured, as many males in a given population are nonbreeders. However, this is controversial, and more research must be done on the dynamics of male-depleted populations.

But the desire for wild-caught battlers and the belief that they are more powerful is pervasive, even though captive-bred pokemon have been shown to be just as strong in a fight as wild ones. Poaching in parks and protected areas is more common than most wardens will admit, and the black market trade is booming. Can the desire for the most powerful pokemon, for the coveted title of 'League Champion,' be reigned in before it is too late? Only time will tell.


	57. Mollicapillus mitevocis

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**

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Common Name:** Igglybuff, Pupurin (juvenile), Jigglypuff, Purin (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Mollicapillus mitevocis_

**Description:** Jigglypuff are small, fluffy rodent pokemon, 20 inches long with round blue eyes the size of billiard balls. Their ears are triangular and set high on the head, and their muzzles are short. Jugglypuff fur is long, luxurious, and pale pink, covering the entire body. They often appear almost spherical, due to their long fur hiding the contours of their already rotund bodies, and only the ears, muzzle, and limbs poke out of the forest of hair. Domestic Jigglypuff are often groomed to accentuate this feature, and are combed to give them bangs, not found in wild Jigglypuff.

Juvenile Igglybuff are much the same, though their fur is slightly paler, their ears are so small that they are hidden in their fur, and their eyes are red instead of blue.

**Range:** Jigglypuff are native to Kanto and the very eastern part of Johto, but have also been released by trainers in Hoenn and other parts of Johto.

**Habitat:** Jigglypuff live in forests and shrublands, sheltering in burrows during the day.

**Call: **Perhaps no pokemon has as famous a call as the Jigglypuff. Not its alarm call, which is a high squeak, nor the call of Igglybuff for their mothers, a trill. Rather, the Jigglypuff is famous for its symphonic, beautiful singing during the mating season, making the woods in Kanto at night seem like nothing less than magic.

No instrument sounds quite like a Jigglypuff, but it has been compared with a flute, a clarinet, and a yodeler. Their range goes from high notes inaudible to humans to low B, and they seem to have an ear for pleasing intervals. Every Jigglypuff has a unique song, and they will often change their songs yearly.

**Diet:** Jigglypuff forage at night for a variety of plants, including leaves, fruits, tubers, and seeds in their diet. When stressed by low food availability, they may forage in the daytime as well.

**Life Cycle:** Jigglypuff have a fascinating courtship display. Not only do both sexes sing in competition with their rivals, but pairs also sing with each other, making duets and harmonies that have captivated human listeners for ages. Jigglypuff males clear themselves a 'stage' free of acoustics-hindering vegetation, then sing their hearts out, hoping to draw a female and not a predator. Other males, if they hear this song, use its volume and pitch to assess the fitness of the singing male, and depending on their own ability may try to out-sing him. These song duels can go on for hours, until one male eventually tires.

A female, upon hearing the song of the victor, presents herself, and sings her own song. The two sing together, perhaps testing each other's compatibility as partners. They then consummate the relationship and separate, never to see each other again.

The female lays 4-8 eggs in a clutch, and keeps them in a warm den lined with her own fur. They hatch with short fur and open eyes, and soon begin following their mother in a fluffy line as she forages for vegetation. They are weaned at 3 weeks, and leave their mothers soon after. Igglybuff take about three months to become Jigglypuff, and can live up to 14 years in captivity. Their lives in the wild are often cut short by predators.

**Relationship with Humans:** Jigglypuff are much prized as pets, both for their undeniably cute appearance and for their song. Collection for the pet trade, along with the battle trade and habitat destruction, has caused a great decline in Jigglypuff populations. At one point, the only place wild Jigglypuff survived was in the foothills of the Moon Mountains.

Thankfully, captive breeding and reintroduction have done wonders for Jigglypuff. They can now be found in several locations in Kanto and Johto, mostly due to the nonstop efforts of Jigglypuff enthusiasts and breeders. They are still considered threatened, but for now, at least, their future is looking more secure.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Jigglypuff song is considered by many to be extraordinarily relaxing, and both Jigglypuff recordings and live Jigglypuff are sold as sleep aids. Other pokemon seem to be susceptible to this effect as well, and become calm and drowsy when listening to Jigglypuff.

Interestingly, Jigglypuff do not sing as a defense mechanism in the wild, but rather must be trained to do so. Instead, when threatened, Jigglypuff inflate air sacks in their bodies to make themselves seem larger, and may rear back to strike with their paws. Jigglypuff fur, which may appear to be a hindrance in the wild, is in fact a defense mechanism as well. It pulls off easily, so when a predator grabs the Jigglypuff they end up with nothing but a mouthful of fur, which comes off and allows the Jigglypuff to escape.

Jigglypuff certainly need all the defenses they can get, for they are prey for Ekans, Arbok, Ninetales, and Persian, amongst others.


	58. Mollicapillus cincinnus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**

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Common Name: **Wigglytuff, Pukurin

**Scientific Name**: _Mollicapillus __cincinnus_

**Description:** Wigglytuff are large rodent pokemon, standing 39 inches tall on two legs, with long ears that add another 18 inches. They are stocky and rotund, with short legs and muzzles. Their eyes are very round and large, and often seem to glisten from the copious tears that these pokemon produce. A thicker, stiffer tuft of fur sticks out from the Wigglytuff's forehead.

Wigglytuff fur is extremely soft and long, and comes in several shades of pink, from light pink and coral to a nearly fluorescent fuchsia. Their muzzles, the tips of their ears, and their underbellies are paler pink to white, and their eyes are blue-green.

Juvenile Wigglytuff often have smaller ears, and can be mistaken for Jigglypuff. To distinguish the closely related species, look for Wigglytuff's paler belly.

**Range:** Wigglytuff were once found in many areas in northern Kanto, but today have a much more fractured range.

**Habitat:** Wigglytuff prefer more upland country than their cousins the Jigglypuff, favoring open meadows adjacent to scrub or forested areas.

**Call:** Wigglytuff, like Jigglypuff, sing to attract mates. Their songs are not as complex nor as long as those of their cousins, but in this author's opinion they are still a wonder to hear, especially when two Wigglytuff sing at once, each striving to be the most well-tuned.

Wigglytuff also have an alarm call, a yip-like squeak.

**Diet**: Wigglytuff are primarily grass-eaters, grazing by night in meadows. They are skittish when feeding, and will bolt for cover at the slightest unusual noise.

**Life Cycle:** Wigglytuff live in small groups, called coveys, composed of a few breeding males and females with their young. Juveniles that want to breed must leave the group, and try to out-sing or out-fight a breeding member of another group. Wigglytuff hibernate in winter, and breed in the early spring. Males sing to impress females, who then join them in an exquisite duet.

Wigglytuff song contests can lead to true fights, with Wigglytuff striking at each other and slamming their bodies together. Fur often flies in these battles, but injuries are rare.

Wigglytuff females lay 3-6 eggs in a burrow lined with her own fur, and incubate them until they hatch. They are weaned at one month, at which point they become more independent.

Wigglytuff can live 16 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Wigglytuff were hunted to near extinction even before the explosion in popularity of battling, due to the demand for their fur. Wigglytuff have extremely soft fur, and unlike Jigglypuff they do not tear free from it easily. Trapping of Wigglytuff, among other species, was instrumental in the expansion into the northern frontier, and it was not until the designation of Wigglytuff as endangered that the practice stopped.

With the rise of the battle industry, Wigglytuff have been further decimated. They are even in sharp decline on the Cerulean Cape, one of their last holdouts. Now, they are mainly found in a few reserves in the northern mountain ranges, where their population may number only a few hundred. They are protected in the wild, and may not be captured.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Wigglytuff fall prey to a variety of predators, including Charizard, Golbat, Onix, and Arbok. They defend themselves by inflating air sacs beneath their skin, making themselves seem larger than they actually are. They will also rear up and strike with their forepaws. They can be trained to sing when under duress, an action that often seems to mesmerize and calm attackers.

Wigglytuff in a covey will often hibernate in the same burrow, insulating each other against the cold.


	59. Perspicuacorporus dibrachia

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: So, after a year of doing this, I've decided to go against my better judgment and illustrate the Natural History of Pokemon. I'm not a great artist, but I thought having a visual might do the guide some good. Find me under the name 'shadow-wasser' on DeviantArt.

**

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Common Name:** Tentacool, Menokurage

**Scientific Name:** _Perspicuacorporus dibrachia_

**Description:** Tentacool are myribrachid molluscan pokemon, their bell-shaped bodies growing to 21 inches long and 9 inches across. They have two fleshy tentacles, measuring 14 inches at rest, but capable of extending or retracting beyond their normal dimensions. These pokemon have a fleshy fin around their bell, flaring out like a skirt. Their bodies are translucent and blue-tinted, and their organs are clearly visible. Most noticeable are their gonads, which are visible as large, red lumps under the skin at the uppermost part of the body, and the light-producing organ, which is located along the midline of the body, above the eyes. Nerves are also visible above the eyes. The Tentacool's digestive tract is normally clear, but when the pokemon has recently eaten, the remnants of its meal can be seen.

Tentacool's tentacles are yellowish brown in color, and form into a bulge at their tips. Close inspection would reveal that these bulges are slit, forming a sheath, inside of which is a sharp barb. This barb is venomous, and can be extended by the Tentacool at will.

Underneath the bell and fin, and between the tentacles, Tentacool have a small mouth, normally hidden from view. They have four weak mandibles which come together in a 'x' pattern.

**Range:** Tentacool are one of the world's most widespread pokemon species, and are found in oceans from Sinnoh through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, and all the way to the Sevii Islands.

**Habitat:** Tentacool are generally open-ocean pokemon, though they will drift inshore, especially during the breeding season. In some years, they will swim up rivers in great numbers, usually perishing in the process. The reason for this behavior is unknown.

**Call: **Tentacool are capable of sonar, navigating with clicks inaudible to humans. They will lower this call into a warbling screech when threatened.

**Diet:** Tentacool hunt at night, when they flash light from the luminescent organ embedded in their skin, attracting zooplankton and small fish. They then snag this prey with their tentacles, using their venom to immobilize the small organisms. They eat mostly very small nonpokemon, and tales of Tentacool eating other pokemon are either widely exaggerated or cases of mistaken identity.

**Life Cycle:** Fertile adult Tentacool reproduce once a year, usually during the full moon in autumn. At this time, males and females gather in enormous numbers in various near shore locations. The Tentacool males hold onto the females with their tentacles, waiting for the female to lay an egg sac nearly the size of her entire body, containing thousands of eggs. The males fertilize these sacs, and then rip them open, releasing the eggs to the currents.

This process is extremely draining on both males and females, and usually only a few Tentacool survive to reproduce again. In any event, Tentacool are short lived, usually only surviving 2-3 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Ask any trainer, fisherman, or swimmer their opinion of Tentacool, and the answer will be unanimous: they are pests!

Tentacool are extremely populous, and though they normally stay far out at sea, even in the nonbreeding season they will wash inshore, and even onshore! Their stings are not deadly to humans, but are painful enough to make swimming unpleasant, and in certain individuals trigger life-threatening allergic reactions. In addition, the large numbers of dead Tentacool present after the breeding season can foul the beaches, making them stink terribly.

Sinnoh's Tentacool populations have dropped precipitously in recent years, likely for climate-related reasons. They are not considered threatened.

In some regions of Johto, Tentacool are considered delicacies, though they have very little taste. They are often sold as 'Jilly.'

**Naturalist's Notes:** Despite having soft, seemingly vulnerable bodies, Tentacool have many ways of defending themselves. Their barb-tipped tentacles are a first line of defense, but they will also attempt to squeeze and strangle attackers. They can stun and confound other underwater creatures with their sonar. Finally, as a last resort, Tentacool can eject some of their stomach acid at attackers. Tentacool also have the water jets common to many water-dwelling pokemon, but require training to learn to use these offensively.

As a result of all these weapons, Tentacool have few predators. The only notable exception to this is in the case of Walrein, which outmaneuver the Tentacool and quickly tear them open while avoiding their barbs.

In places where these pokemon are common, such as around upwellings, Tentacool make for a beautiful nighttime spectacle. Flashing their bioluminescent organs through the dark water, the black sea often appears to be spangled with bright red baubles. The lights are called 'sea rubies' by coastal dwelling people. Poets often find the sight quite inspiring.

Tentacool are weak swimmers, often simply drifting with the current and only moving their fins to keep themselves upright. They will only use their water jets in emergencies.


	60. Medusamimus calimarium

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Tentacruel, Dokukurage, Sea Gangster (colloquial)

**Scientific Name**_**:**__ Medusamimus calimarium_

**Description:** Tentacruel are very large myribrachids. The Tentacruel's dome-shaped body can measure more than 5 feet across, and up to 80 tentacles dangle beneath it, inside of a flared ring of muscle that serves as a fin. These tentacles are thin but strong and very elastic, and can stretch to over 5 feet or retract to stubs. Each tentacle is tipped with a poisonous barb.

Tentacruel's body is translucent and blue-tinted, with the gonads, bioluminescent organ, nerves, and digestive tract clearly visible. Unlike Tentacool, which have eyes above their fin, Tentacruel have eyes under their fin, preventing them from seeing anything directly above them.

Tentacruel's mouth is worth noting. Easily visible amongst the tangle of tentacles are two blue, beaklike mandibles, jutting down like spears. These are calcified and hard, and can reach 3 feet in length. The other two mandibles are very small in Tentacruel, and can only be seen upon dangerously close observation.

**Range:** Tentacruel are present in the offshore waters of Johto, Kano, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, and the Sevii Islands.

**Habitat:** Tentacruel live in the open ocean, only very rarely coming inshore. Storms may wash them up rivers, but they usually do not survive this.

**Call:** Tentacruel create high-pitched clicks to navigate and detect prey. They can release these clicks loud enough to send shockwaves through the water, stunning nearby organisms. When aggravated, they will buzz loudly.

**Diet:** Tentacruel are general carnivores, eating most any pokemon that they find. However, their diet consists mostly of Remoraid and Magikarp, with the occasional Finneon, Mantyke, or Horsea for variety. Tentacruel hunt blind, stalking their prey by night and often approaching from below. Unable to see their prey but able to detect it with sonar, Tentacruel must use ambush tactics, as many of their victims are faster swimmers than they are.

If its prey is not stunned by a pulse of sound, the Tentacruel attacks with its tentacles, injecting a painful venom. They then hold the prey in their large, beaklike mandibles while tearing it into pieces with their smaller, hidden mandibles.

**Life Cycle:** Mating amongst Tentacruel does not involve the mass gatherings seen in Tentacool, but is rather a solitary affair. Females with ripe eggs signal by flashing light and clicking sonar rhythmically, drawing in males sometimes from miles away. The male flashes and clicks back at her from a distance, only approaching if she continues to give the right signals. The Tentacruel female drops a 3-foot long egg sac, which the male fertilizes. They then part.

The female Tentacruel holds this egg sac beneath her body for weeks until it hatches, fasting the whole time. She then releases her young into the water, likely never to see them again.

Tentacruel usually take shelter in deep water during the day, rising into shallow water at night. They are effectively invisible in dark water, unless they are luminescing.

Tentacruel can live 5 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Tentacruel are widely feared, and beaches are often closed when one drifts inshore. And indeed, their stings are debilitatingly painful, though not directly deadly. More often, deaths attributed to Tentacruel are in fact cases of drowning out of panic when stung. Tentacruel are generally more curious toward humans than aggressive, and are not prone to viewing humans as prey.

Trainers, on the other hand, find Tentacruel highly desirable pokemon, and are all too happy to remove any Tentacruel that comes too near population centers. However, the open ocean dwelling Tentacruel are too hard to track down individually for there to be very much wild harvesting. They are not considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes: **Tentacruel have effectively no predators. They can sting, stun, or constrict anything that tries to take a bite out of their soft bodies, and often make a meal out of the potential predator. Even Sharpedo and saltwater Gyarados don't bother them.

Tentacruel have water jets, but they are generally only used by females to keep fresh water running over their egg sacs. They can, however, be trained to use these offensively.


	61. Convexum pompeii

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** I will NOT be covering the new, 5th gen pokemon. One day I might do so, if/when I finish this one.

**

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Common Name: **Heatran, Hidoran

**Scientific Name:** _Convexum pompeii_

**Description**: Heatran are large, fierce-looking reptiles. They measure 6 feet long, and stand 40 inches at the shoulder. They have four thick, sturdy limbs and a stocky body, with a stub tail and a heavy head with very little neck. Heatran's head has a high, domed, bony skull, with two bone knobs coming out of the sides, above and behind the eyes, and a smaller knob coming out of the forehead. Heatran's large, broad feet are oddly shaped, with one thick toe in front, one in back, and two at right angles. Their footprint makes a characteristic '+' shape.

Heatran are dark rufous in color, with orange mottling and silvery grey osteoderms embedded in the torso and limbs. Heatran also have grey rings around each ankle, and their heads are grey. Heatran's underbelly is pleated and colored a darker grey.

Heatran are notable for their prominent teeth, which protrude from their lipless mouths. Their eyes are red with slit pupils.

**Range:** Heatran are endemic to the Northeastern Island, mostly in the vicinity of Stark Mountain.

**Habitat:** Heatran shelter deep underground, usually in Onix tunnels. They only occasionally emerge to hunt for food.

**Call:** Heatran's aggressive cry is a wheezy shriek, surprisingly high-pitched for a pokemon of Heatran's size. They have been recorded to gurgle and gargle when content.

**Diet:** Heatran are ambush predators, hunting when they emerge from their tunnels at night. They will also eat any smaller pokemon that wanders into their tunnels. They are adaptable, and will feed on introduced prey species such as Rhyhorn and Numel, as well as native Machop and Geodude. They may also have once fed on native populations of Infernape and Meditite, before these species were wiped out by Mt. Stark's eruptions.

**Life Cycle:** Heatran breed all year, sheltered by their tunnels and warmed by Mt. Stark. These pokemon are territorial, however, and courtship must be performed carefully. The male Heatran signals to the female by scraping its bony head projections against the sides of her tunnels, creating a shrieking, scraping sound that is highly unpleasant to humans, but that female Heatran apparently find quite alluring.

If she does not attack him, they will mate, and the female later gives live birth to 2-3 young, often with great difficulty. She does not directly care for the young Heatran, but does permit them to feed from her leftovers until they grow too large, at which point she will eject them from her territory.

Heatran remain active all winter, though they emerge less frequently from their tunnels in very cold weather. They may live 40-50 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Few pokemon species are more in demand for the arena than Heatran. Once fairly abundant, the 3475 eruption of Mt. Stark decimated their prey base, and even though many Heatran survived the direct blast by sheltering in their tunnels, thousands starved in the ensuing months. The booming battle trade made short work of most of the rest, and today only around 200 survive.

Because all of Heatran's habitat is owned by Battle Frontier™ Inc, there are no reserves in place for this pokemon. However, heavy restrictions surround capturing wild Heatran, and a grand total of five may be taken yearly, legally. Legal permits sell for thousands of dollars, and poaching is rampant.

Captive breeding has never been successful with Heatran, with the captive females always attacking their would-be mates.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Heatran are well-known for their wall-climbing abilities. Their rough-bottomed feet can find even tiny imperfections in stone walls, and their incredibly strong grips enable them to climb even upside down, and to run along walls as though they were flat ground, truly remarkable for a pokemon of Heatran's size!

Heatran are biocombusting pokemon, but instead of using flammable gas or aerosols as most biocombustors do, they vomit out their flammable liquid as a single mass. The effect is rather horrifying, as the pokemon appears to be spitting liquid fire, often compared to the magma of nearby Mt. Stark. The liquid is sticky and oily, and is difficult to remove from clothing, skin, and hair even when it isn't actively burning.

Due to this defense, few Onix or Steelix will try to attack a Heatran more than once.


	62. Gossypium acanthinasperma

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Completely redone from its initial version.

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**Common Name:** Hoppip, Hanecco (juvenile), Skiploom, Popocco (pre-sporogenic adult), Jumpluff, Watacco (sporogenic adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Gossypium acanthinasperma_

**Description:** Jumpluff are small mammo-reptiles, distantly related to Venusaur. They have four small legs, and squat bodies with wrinkly, baggy skin. They can rise onto their hind legs, but not for very long. These pokemon have short tails, blunt muzzles, external ears, and small, round, flat eyes. As in Venusaur, symbiotic plants grow from the Jumpluff's upper back.

In their juvenile stage, known as Hoppip, these pokemon are colored dull to deep pink, with yellow eyes. Hoppip's tails are narrow, their external ears are small, and their symbiotic plants emerge from their bodies as several long, serrated leaves. When Hoppip mature, they become Skiploom, which have a quite different appearance. Skiploom are yellow-green in color, and their tails are thick. Skiploom's ears grow huge and extend out to the side, and in some individuals the ears have yellow tips. Skiploom also develop a 'hook' in their upper lips. The pokemon lose their leaves in the Skiploom stage, and instead grow a large, yellow flower with a white center. Maturing further, Skiploom metamorphose into Jumpluff. Jumpluff are dull blue in color, and while they may grow a few very small leaves, they have no flower. Instead, their symbiotic plant develops a large flight organ, a round fan of interlaced, feathery tufts that is dexterous and mobile. Their front limbs also develop feathery, tufted, off-white growths, as a result of which Jumpluff can barely walk. Jumpluff's eyes are red, and their tails grow smaller as their fat reserves are used up. Their ears are lost in this life stage, and their lip-hook recedes, often giving the pokemon the appearance of having an under bite.

When in flight, all stages inflate until they are rotund and nearly spherical, their skin pulling taught and smooth like a balloon. This easily doubles the pokemon's apparent size. Jumpluff continue growing in all life stages, and may reach a length of nearly three feet.

**Range:** Hoppip are found in southern Kanto and Johto, but mature Jumpluff can travel quite far, establishing in recent years a large population on Chrono Island. Hoppip and Skiploom, too, can be blown great distances, and can be found far out at sea or in the mountains. Only rarely do they survive such excursions, however.

**Habitat:** Hoppip and Skiploom live in meadows, open woodlands, and grasslands. Jumpluff may be found in any habitat, but rarely make landfall.

**Call:** When disturbed, all stages of Jumpluff release air explosively from their air sacs, resulting in a gargling squeak.

**Diet:** Hoppip get most of their energy from photosynthesis, occasionally supplemented by occasional insects and other small animals. When they become Skiploom, plant chlorophyll migrates to under the pokemon's skin, and they continue to photsynthesize even without leaves. But upon becoming Jumpluff, the pokemon must live off of the fat reserves in their tails, and in fact metabolize their entire digestive system to become more lightweight.

**Life Cycle:** Jumpluff are short-lived and prolific, producing many offspring over their lifespan. Hoppip hatch in spring, and spend their first year feeding, photosynthesizing, and growing. The pokemon dig a few feet into the earth and hibernate underground through their first winter, their leaves dying down to nubs. Come spring, they go through metamorphosis and become Skiploom, and their plant emerges as a flower.

The pokemon spend another year as Skiploom, during which time they mate and lay dozens of eggs in protected nests. Female Skiploom do not incubate or care for their young. Skiploom's flowers also catch pollen from Jumpluff, and produce the seeds which are incorporated into their eggs. Finally, after spending another winter buried underground, the pokemon emerge and become 'sporogenic' adults, or Jumpluff.

With a much-improved method of directing themselves while airborne, the Jumpluff take to the sky for their final year. During this time, Jumpfluff's organs convert to pollen-storage. They stop eating entirely, and usually only live a few weeks off of their reserves. However, their metamorphosis from Skiploom is staggered, so they release pollen throughout the growing season, spreading their genes far and wide. After this final reproductive spurt, the Jumpluff die.

**Relationship with Humans:** Jumpluff are a widespread, abundant species in Johto and the Sevii Islands, with occasional specimens blowing to Kanto. However, they have not become established in mainland Kanto, save for a few outlying populations that may be artificially introduced.

Jumpluff are innocuous and nonagressive, so are not targeted by the battling industry. To the contrary, there is a decent tourism industry built around viewing the large drifts of Hoppip that form during late summer.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Jumpluff in all their life stages are full of air sacs, and have fully pneumatized and kinetic skeletons. This means that they can inflate their bodies with air until they are nearly spherical, pulling tight their baggy skin and often lifting their limbs clear off the ground. These pokemon cannot walk when inflated, so usually only use this method of defense when badly threatened.

Jumpluff, in all lifestages, can also inflate with self-produced hydrogen gas, over the course of a few hours or so. This makes the pokemon lighter than air, and allows it to be blown about by winds. Hoppip and Skiploom cannot control their direction in the air, however they _can_ determine when their trip ends by slowly expelling their gas. The pokemon also seem to be able to control when they start flying, to an extent, by digging their bodies into the ground until a wind comes that suits them. Flight behavior by Hoppip and Skiploom seems to be triggered by overcrowding, or possibly by food shortages. Hoppip, but not Skiploom, will often gather in groups, called 'drifts,' and link together by minute hooks on their leaves, before blowing away. This may be in order to guarantee breeding partners where the Hoppip drift lands.

Skiploom's flowers will open in warm weather and close with cold, possibly in order to synchronize breeding during the warm summer. The trigger temperature to open, 64°, is surprisingly accurate, so much so that Skiploom can be used as a kind of thermometer (with only one mark!).

Jumpluff are rarely predated upon, but several pokemon find Hoppip and Skiploom to be a good food source, including Raticate, Nidorino/a, Venonat, and Furret. To defend themselves, Hoppip will consume poisonous plants that they are immune to, and incorporate their defenses. Eating a Hoppip can thus cause anything from a stomachache to drowsiness to paralysis, depending on which plant toxins they have incorporated. Before being fertilized, Skiploom's symbiotic plant can also excrete a modified, parasitic embryo that burrows into predators.


	63. Lonchura bombacini

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name**: Swablu, Tyltto

**Scientific Name:** _Lonchura bombacini_

**Description:** Swablu are small bird pokemon, measuring 22 inches from beak to tail and with an almost 4-foot wingspan. They are often described accurately as 'flying pom-poms,' as they are covered with a thick layer of soft down beneath their outer feathers. Swablu's bodies are iridescent sky blue, and they have white, rounded wings. They have narrow tails, and, distinctively, two long brow feathers. Swablu's large, blunt beak and three-toed feet are ivory in color, and their eyes are dark.

**Range:** Swablu are found in northeastern Hoenn, though they were once more widespread. Captive escapes are occasionally reported in Sinnoh, but these feral flocks rarely survive the winter.

**Habitat:** Swablu live in lowland forests and woodlands. They are known to move near human habitations in search of food.

**Call:** A rising chatter is Swablu's common contact call within their flock. During the breeding season they will sing a squeaky chirp.

**Diet:** Swablu are mainly herbivorous, cracking various seeds and nuts with their hefty bills. They will occasionally eat fruit.

**Life Cycle:** Swablu live in flocks, and are extremely social. In the nonbreeding season they often roost all in the same tree, if not on the same branch! These pokemon breed in the wet season, males singing to attract a mate and helping her build a platform nest. In a good year, she may try to rear two broods, laying 4-5 eggs each time. The male helps her raise the helpless, featherless chicks, gathering food and defending against predators.

Swablu usually live around 20 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Like their cousins the Altaria, Swablu were once hunted for their soft down. After hunting of Altaria was made illegal, the feather-hunters turned to Swablu, and it wasn't until the Swablu were nearly gone that synthetic down became the industry standard. The pokemon have recovered since those days, but are still limited in range.

Swablu are one of the few pokemon that, even after years of persecution, still have no fear of humans. They will live near human developments and even perch on a hiker's head or shoulders, if he or she is still and quiet.

Today, Swablu are sometimes targeted by the battle industry, and their cheerful songs and bold, inquisitive natures make them popular pets. While their populations appear to be stable, their range has not returned to its historic size.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Swablu are often depicted in old paintings as having clouds for wings. This is due to the pokemon's weak hydrosolidification abilities, which it often uses to condensate water and shroud itself in a cloaking mist.

Swablu are notoriously fastidious, cleanly pokemon, constantly grooming themselves other members of their flock for dirt and parasites. They never reuse nests, even when rearing their second clutch, to avoid parasites. Unusually for birds, they even defecate in designated 'latrines,' not wherever they want.

Swablu are occasionally predated upon by Nuzleaf and Zangoose, especially while nesting. Delcatty likely once hunted Swablu as well, but today their ranges do not overlap.


	64. Sinnephoptera cantillatus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Iwo Island and Koshiki Island are real Japanese islands, located in Kyushu near where the Sky Pillar is in Hoenn.

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**Common Name**: Altaria, Tyltalis

**Scientific Name:** _Sinnephoptera cantillatus_

**Description:** Altaria are midsize bird pokemon, measuring 5 feet long with an 8-foot wingspan. The feathers of their bodies are iridescent blue, appearing brightest in the sun while duller in shade, and their wings and breast are covered in fluffy white down.

Altaria have long necks and dark eyes, with wide ivory bills and white patches on the cheeks. They have two very long brow feathers arching back over their heads. Their feet are weak, four-toed, and blue, and their tails are forked, with longer outer feathers.

**Range**: Altaria only survive in the Sky Pillar mountains of Iwo Island, though they were once widespread on Hoenn's mountainous, offshore islands, from the Victory Mountains through to the Koshiki island chain.

**Habitat: **Altaria inhabit montane pine forests. They nest on rocky cliff faces, often in cracks and crevasses.

**Call**: Both male and female Altaria sing a beautiful, enchanting song, consisting of high, held notes that rise in pitch, often compared to a flute or humming. This song often has a calming effect on listeners.

**Diet:** Altaria are mostly seed-eaters, using their bills to pry open pine cones. They will store the cones for winter use, often placing them in the cracks and ledges of vertical cliffs, away from pests.

**Life Cycle**: Altaria pair bond soon after maturing, the lone pokemon singing loudly and conspicuously to attract a mate. When a mate is found, they interact for several days on and off before becoming a pair, seemingly testing each other for compatibility. They will sing together, groom each other, and simply sit on branches next to each other, wings thrown over each other in an avian 'embrace.' Research has shown that these bonding behaviors decrease while young are being raised, and increase right before the breeding season begins.

When the pair breed, the female builds a nest on a cliff ledge, out of the reach of most predators. She lays 2-3 eggs, which the pair usually rears successfully. However, if the pine cone crop is bad they may not feed one of the hatchlings, rather letting it starve to ensure the survival of the other(s).

Altaria fledge at around 3 months, a breathtaking sight to see, as the pokemon leap from the cliff ledges into thin air, trusting their wings to work as they should.

Altaria can live to be up to 50 years old.

**Relationship With Humans:** Altaria were hunted to near extinction in the 3100's, for their exquisitely soft, insulating down, which was in high demand in Sinnoh for blankets, pillows, and coats. Within two decades, the hunters, or 'downers,' had extirpated Altaria everywhere but Iwo Island, which was inaccessible due to its sheer cliffs and lack of good harbor. But as technology improved, even this refuge became vulnerable. The Hoennese government, recognizing the need to preserve the resource for the future, outlawed Altaria hunting, and the downers quickly turned to Swablu, Altaria's smaller cousin. Unfortunately, the emergence of the battle trade has prevented Altaria from fully recovering from downing.

The facilities to breed Altaria in captivity were not developed until recently, and today specialty Altaria down products can be bought from farmed Altaria.

Altaria have been known to pair bond with their human owners, as they otherwise would with their mates. This is considered normal and healthy behavior, and makes for a more mentally stable Altaria.

**Naturalist's Notes:** All Altaria possess vestigial fire sacs, which, through a combination of surgery and genetic therapy, can become functional. Many captive Altaria are altered in this way.

Like Swablu, Altaria have weak hydrosolidification abilities, and secrete mist when stressed.

These pokemon have extremely efficient immune systems, and suffer from few diseases. This contributes to their unusually long lifespans. However, Altaria young may be eaten by Golbat if the parents are not vigilant, and adults fall prey to Rayqaza while foraging in the canopy.


	65. Margoartus monoceros

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N**: I decided that my previous name for arthropod-like pokemon was too big a mouthful, so renamed the segmented invertebrate pokemon as 'entomon,' derived from the Greek for 'insect.'

Thank you all so much for 100 reviews!

**

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Common Name:** Heracross

**Scientific Name:** _Margoartus monoceros_

**Description:** Heracross are very large entomic pokemon, standing nearly 5 feet tall on two legs, though they will also move on all fours. When upright, their horn can reach up 3½ feet above their heads. This horn is the Heracross' most famous feature, with two prongs sprouting from the end. These prongs are large and notched in males, and small and rounded in females.

Heracross are thickly built, with heavy oval bodies covered with dull blue, interlocking chitin. They have four wings, two of which are modified into opaque wing covers, but are practically flightless, barely able to flutter a few yards before tiring. Their heads are sunken in and hunched forward, with small mandibles and two club-tipped antennae. The horn is between the large, yellow, compound eyes. The eyes are notable for their large pseudopupils (a dark spot created by light reflecting in the eye, not a true pupil). Heracross have thin but powerful limbs. Their lower arms and mid-thighs have flanges of exoskeleton, and all limbs are tipped with claws, one on the hindfoot and two on the forefoot.

Heracross nymphs are secretive and rarely seen, but are included here for completeness. The nymphs are paler in color than the adults, and lack wings, flanges, and the horn. These slowly develop as they shed their exoskeletons, until they reach adult size.

**Range:** Heracross are widely found in Johto, and have been introduced into Sinnoh. An isolated population is also found on Pattern Bush Island, a small islet in the Sevii archipelago.

**Habitat:** Heracross live in lowland forests and woodlands.

**Call: **Heracross' call is a surprisingly high-pitched, tinkling whinny.

**Diet:** Heracross feed off of plant liquids. Their favored feeding behavior is to chew off a section of tree bark, and lap at the sap that oozes out with a tongue-like proboscis. This trunk damage is highly visible, and is a sure sign of Heracross presence. Heracross patrol well-defined territories containing their favorite tree species, and defend them avidly from other Heracross. Interestingly, they do not seem to mind Butterfree feeding from their leftovers.

Heracross are driven into a frenzy by the taste of honey, and will do almost anything to obtain this rare treat. Although they are poor climbers, they will climb tall trees to get at nonpokemon beehives, and in Sinnoh will fight their way into Combee nests. They sometimes even succeed!

Although these pokemon are primarily herbivores, they have been known to attack pokemon with symbiotic plants to suck their juices. This is sometimes fatal for the unfortunate symbiont. The reason for this risky behavior, especially when plenty of trees were still around, was for a long time mysterious. However, recent studies suggest that female Heracross engage in this behavior to provide high-quality nutrients for egg formation.

**Life Cycle:** In winter, Heracross dig large burrows at the bases of trees, following the retreat of sap. They move little and eat little through the colder seasons, and their metabolism drops into a torpor.

Heracross breed in early spring, when the tree sap rises and they emerge from their underground hideouts. Males emerge first, and engage in awe-inspiring wrestling matches, locking horns and trying to flip their opponent onto their backs. By the time the females come out of the earth, the males have sorted out their dominance hierarchy, and they mate quickly.

The female will have laid her several dozen eggs by the start of summer, depositing a couple eggs in each of several small holes she digs in the soil. The young quickly hatch, dig their way out, and feed off of small plants before moving to trees. They usually reach maturity in two years, and can live to be ten.

**Relationship with Humans:** Heracross is well loved in the arena, and capturing pressure has taken its toll. However, their populations are not yet at a dangerously low level, and have even been increasing in recent years.

Heracross have recently become established in Sinnoh, where they have no native predators (the introduced Scyther will prey on them, however). They may be a threat to Sinnoh's trees, but not enough research has been done to determine this.

Heracross occasionally become pests by girdling trees while feeding. If they do so in areas where living trees are greatly valued (such as orchards), they are often caught and sold at auction.

**Naturalist's Notes:** An adult Heracross' only real predators are Scizor and Scyther, which are able to break through the Heracross' chitin armor. Heracross nymphs may be threatened by Ariados, Nidorino/a, or other predators.

Heracross are very capable of defending themselves and their territories, charging with their horn and throwing others with incredible strength.


	66. TiPB: Pokemon Intelligence

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**

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Topics in pokemon biology: Pokemon Intelligence**

Anyone who owns pokemon can attest to their cleverness. Pokemon can learn to obey human commands with surprising swiftness and accuracy, to the point where they feel like an extension of the trainer's will. Pokemon are undoubtedly more intelligent than we give them credit for, but how intelligent exactly?

Of course, some pokemon are more intelligent than others. A filter-feeding pokemon that stays all its life in one place, such as Clamperl, will have less brainpower than an active, cooperative hunter like Mightyena, or an adaptable omnivore like Aipom. It would probably be more accurate to say that every pokemon is as intelligent as its lifestyle requires it to be.

Yet, every time we claim that a pokemon cannot do something, we find one that can. Farfetch'd use tools, Marowak make them. Spearow behave selflessly and Dragonite know when they don't know the answer to a question. Jynx seem to have a primitive language, and Smeargle appear to enjoy making art. The list goes on and on.

So, are pokemon intelligent in the way that humans are? Some Alakazam have been shown to be able to do even fairly complex math problems. Mr. Mime have been taught sign language, while Meowth and Chatot can mimic human speech, sometimes even seeming to learn their meanings. Does this make them sentient? What is 'sentience?' Is it the ability to feel emotion, to remember, to weigh pros and cons and make decisions? Pokemon are believed to have all these traits. If we conclude that pokemon are sentient, should we outlaw battling with and eating them?

The answers to these questions are not easy, and perhaps belong more in a discussion of philosophy than biology. For how can we study the inner workings of a pokemon's mind, the 'black box,' the subjective experience of another species?

It should be noted that the intelligence of the manmade pokemon 'Mewtwo' has not been studied, and reports of toolmaking, language, and advanced cognition may be exaggerated.


	67. Noctiluca lunare

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**Common Name:** Lunatone

**Scientific Name:** _Noctiluca lunare_

**Description:** Lunatone are bizarre bivalve pokemon. Their two beige, calciferous shells are deeply curved away from their connecting hinge, forming the two 'horns' of a 38-inch long crescent. On each side, in the center of the crescent, there is a gap in the shells, covered by tough black or brown tissue inset with a red eye. The two eyes each have a vertical pupil, which narrows to a slit in bright light or when the Lunatone feels threatened.

Between the eyes and projecting out from the Lunatone is an odd beaklike structure, slit horizontally. Inside is the Lunatone's siphon, bringing in water to breathe and filter nutrients.

**Range:** Lunatone are found in many isolated locations in Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Lunatone are cave dwellers, and are uncommon in Hoenn's limestone caverns. They require water, and generally prefer warmth. As such, they can be found very deep underground. However, on full moons Lunatone have been found wandering around on the surface.

**Call:** Lunatone are almost entirely silent, but when caught on land and threatened they may gargle the water in their bodies, producing a low bubbling sound.

**Diet:** Lunatone have a symbiotic relationship with sulfur-eating chemosynthetic bacteria. They filter water through their beaklike siphon, gathering dissolved sulphur to feed the bacteria, which they then selectively harvest for their own consumption. They will also absorb trace nutrients and calcium to build their shells, but eat no solid food.

**Life Cycle:** Lunatone are generally sedentary, laying at the bottom of pools of water for weeks at a time. However, during full moon nights, they use psychic forces to levitate out of the water and search out mates. During this time, they may occasionally wander out of their caves. Lunatone are hermaphrodites, and fertilize each other's eggs when mating. They then keep their eggs in a pouch until they find an empty pool in which to lay them. The Lunatone are born as shell-less larvae, but within a few days become miniatures of their parents.

Because Lunatone live below ground, it is not known how they sense the phases of the moon. They may have an accurate internal clock, or may sense the extremely weak tidal forces acting on their subterranean pools.

Lunatone are very long lived, and may reach ages of over 80.

**Relationship with Humans:** Lunatone have disappeared from many of the caverns they once inhabited, and today are only found in a few easily-accessible caves. However, there are many cave systems that are difficult or illegal for trainers to access, and these are believed to still house large populations of Lunatone. For this reason, Luntatone are not considered endangered.

Because of their crescent appearance, ability to levitate, and greater activity on the full moon, Lunatone are often associated with the moon in folklore, often portrayed as having originated in space. However, DNA studies definitively place them as earthly in origin.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Lunatone are psychic, with extremely well-developed brains for any mollusk. Not only can they levitate, but can also send others to sleep and induce fear. In these pokemon, the hormones associated with psychic activity fluctuate with the moon, and during the full moon they become shockingly powerful, able to cause hallucinations and expel force.

Solrock are the only predator of adult Lunatone, as none other can break open their shells (though juvenile Lunatone are swallowed whole by Whiscash). If a Solrock catches a Lunatone, it latches on, and slowly grinds a hole into the Lunatone's shell, which may take hours. If the Lunatone cannot fight off the Solrock, it is a goner, for once the shell is breached, the Solrock can leisurely devour the Lunatone's soft insides.


	68. Strix horologium

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh, darn.

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Common Name:** Hoothoot, Hoho

**Scientific Name:** _Strix horologium_

**Description:** Hoothoot are rotund bird pokemon, standing 27 inches tall with a 50-inch wingspan. The wings are short and rounded, and Hoothoot cannot fly for long distances. Their tails are similarly short and rounded. Hoothoot have small, whiskerlike feathers that project from underneath the eyes, and two long feathers on their brows, which widen into 'arrow-head' shapes at the tips. Hoothoot have large eyes and small, curved beaks. Their feet are highly unusual for a bird, with five toes, one of which points backward. The other four toes splay out widely. Usually, only one foot is visible, as the other is kept tucked against the Hoothoot's belly feathers.

Color varies by subspecies. _Strix horologium horologium_, the Johto Hoothoot, is golden olive in color, while _Strix horologium fuscus, _the Sinnoh Hoothoot, is a duller, darker brown. Both species have an unmarked, paler underside, and black discs around the eyes. Their whisker and brow feathers are black, while their eyes are a striking red-orange (more reddish in _S. h. fuscus_). Hoothoot's unfeathered parts are dull pink.

**Range:** Hoothoot are found throughout central and southern Johto, as well as in central and eastern Sinnoh, where their range is far more fragmented.

**Habitat:** Hoothoot live in lowland and foothill forests and woodlands. They will also nest in parks and even suburban areas.

**Call:** Hoothoot call a high-pitched _hoo-whooo_. One oddity of this pokemon's behavior is that all Hoothoot call at a specific time each night, so accurately that ancient people marked time with it! The time varies from one population to another, but is usually the same within a contiguous population. The effect of this is that the entire forest becomes a cacophony for a few minutes, as all of its Hoothoot cry out simultaneously. The calling is believed to be a territorial behavior.

Hoothoot may also growl if threatened.

**Diet:** Hoothoot are predatory, and hunt by diving on their prey from a branch. They feed preferentially on Rattata in Johto, but in Sinnoh, where the native Bidoof are slightly too large for Hoothoot to carry off, they prey mostly on non-pokemon mammals. Rarely, Hoothoot will kill Pidgey and Swablu as they sleep, or even take down a Buneary or a Meowth.

Hoothoot swallow their prey whole, and after eating will regurgitate a pellet of bones, feathers, and fur. A tree with these pellets scattered around its base is sure to house a Hoothoot!

**Life Cycle:** Hoothoot breed in early spring. Males enter the females' territories, and display to her by tilting his head from side to side rhythmically, hooting as he does so. If she is impressed, they become a pair for the year, finding an abandoned nest or tree hollow in which to lay around four eggs. They range widely to find food for their young, which begin to fledge at around one month old. Come winter, the breeding pair splits up, to repeat the whole process the next year.

Hoothoot may live up to 21 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Hoothoot are often considered 'wise' in popular folklore, less because they are more intelligent than other pokemon than because their forward-facing eyes makes them appear more humanlike than most birds.

Hoothoot's time-specific nightly calls have also fascinated people throughout history, and many charming mythic explanations have been put forth, including that they are counting down to doomsday, that they are marking the birth of the world, and that they are calling to the moon to take them home.

Hoothoot are not pursued greatly for the battle trade, and are uncommon but widespread in Johto. However, deforestation has impacted the species in Sinnoh, and they are much rarer there.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Hoothoot have extremely sharp vision, and can see details at great distance even on dark nights. They are mildly psychic, and can induce sleep in others.

These pokemon are caught and eaten by Crobat and their cousins the Noctowl.


	69. Bubo intensiorus

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**Common Name:** Noctowl, Yorunozuku

**Scientific Name:** _Bubo intensiorus_

**Description:** Noctowl are huge nocturnal birds. They measure 5 ½ feet from head to tail, and have an 18-ft wingspan (Sinnoh specimens are often larger). Their bodies are dull brown in color, with darker brown on the upper part of their wings. Their undersides are patterned with black markings. They have a black and beige 'facial disk,' a flat region of feathers around each eye. Their eyes are red, and they have two very thick beige brow plumes, as well as a smaller beige tuft on the forehead. Noctowl's feet are pale beige and have four toes with long talons, one facing backward. Their beak is small and dull pink, and their tail is dark brown and wedge-shaped.

**Range:** Noctowl exist in two distinct populations, one widespread in Kanto and Johto, and another found in eastern Sinnoh. Some researchers maintain that these two are different enough to be considered different species, though they appear different only in size.

**Habitat:** Kanto and Johto Noctowl live in the lowlands, while Sinnoh Noctowl live in highlands and foothill regions.

**Call:** Noctowl's call is a low vibrating, _Hooooo wooooooo_, usually given in courtship and territorial demarcation.

**Diet:** Noctowl have excellent night vision, as well as extremely keen hearing. They usually hunt their prey from perches, pouncing on it from above.

These pokemon take a wide variety of small and medium-sized prey. Amongst many others, Noctowl take Raticate, Jigglypuff, Mareep, Meowth, Aipom, and Abra in Johto and Kanto, while in Sinnoh they take Weavile, Meditite, Bidoof, Snorunt and Staravia. Very rarely, Azelf and Uxie bones have been found in their pellets. Noctowl in all regions will prey on their cousins the Hoothoot, and opportunistically take the young of many larger pokemon.

Like Hoothoot, Noctowl regurgitate pellets after eating. Dissecting these can give clues as to which prey species are found in the area.

**Life Cycle:** Noctowl breed in late winter, males displaying from a prominent point such as a dead snag or a rocky outcrop. If he succeeds in attracting a female, she lays 1-4 eggs, which they rear together. They feed their young until the following autumn, when they finally leave. The pair will sometimes stay together for life, and other times

Noctowl are long-lived, and the oldest one survived 57 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Noctowl are often thought of as very intelligent, for their intense, penetrating gaze and their tendency to tilt their heads as though thinking. Their intelligence, however, is no greater than that of other predatory birds.

Noctowl are suffering from habitat loss, but are still relatively common, as they are not generally pursued for the battle trade.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Noctowl are more powerfully psychic than their cousins, and can cause hallucinations and pain with their minds. They can even cause others to become sympathetic with their own sensations.

Noctowl are well known for the ability to turn their heads 180 degrees, and for the silence of their wing beats. Both of these adaptations allow them to monitor and follow prey while making as little noise as possible.


	70. Electrisciurus caerula

**Disclaimer**: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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Common Name: **Pachirisu

**Scienti****fic Name:** _Electrisciurus caerula_

**Description:** Pachirisu are small rodent pokemon, measuring about 28 inches long, half of which is the large, fluffy tail. They have large heads for their body size and pricked ears topped with pointed tufts. Pachirisu have large buck teeth and small but strong limbs. Their eyes are dark, and they have large, hairless check pouches that overlay their electrogenic organs. Near the tip of the Pachirisu's tail, on the upper surface, are three quills, which may be raised or lowered as an aggressive signal.

Pachirisu have pale blue fur, sometimes so pale that it is nearly white. They have a single, sky blue dorsal stripe down their spine, and their ears are also sky blue. The dorsal stripe often extends farther down the forehead in males than in females. The skin covering their check pouches is yellow.

**Range:** Pachirisu are native to western Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Pachirisu live in forests and woodlands.

**Call:** Pachirisu's alarm call is a bubbly, hiccupping squeak. Many other pokemon listen for this call to alert them to the presence of predators.

**Diet:** Pachirisu eat berries, seeds, and nuts, much of which they bury or cache for the harsh winter. They are extremely protective of their caches, and will often fill holes with inedible material (such as rocks and fur), in order to throw off any pokemon watching them. Not only that, but many Pachirisu will set 'traps' with their food-containing caches. These traps can consist of thorny branches, nettle leaves, and their own shed quills, all of which help to discourage thieves, which may be other Pachirisu.

**Life Cycle:** Pachirisu breed in late winter, and again in mid to late spring, the female raising two litters per year. She lays two to six soft-shelled eggs per litter, and the young hatch blind, furless, and helpless. They grow quickly, and usually leave their mother's treetop nest within two months.

Pachirisu spend the nonbreeding season in loose social groups, greeting each other by rubbing cheeks. They do not hibernate, but rather remain active through the winter, living mainly off of their stores.

Pachirisu may live to 14 years.

**Relationship With Humans:** Pachirisu are moderately popular pets in Sinnoh, and trade in live Pachirisu for pets has coupled with habitat destruction to deplete wild populations. However, these pokemon are not yet considered threatened, as the removal of most predators from their range has resulted in greater numbers of Pachirisu.

**Naturalist's Notes:** These pokemon are electrogenic, with electogenic organs in their cheeks and the tips of their tails. When threatened, they will raise their quills and flick their tails as a warning. Contact with the fur causes a shock, and even being near a trained Pachirisu can cause electrocution. They are also notorious biters.


	71. Anticasquilla lamina

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**Common Name:** Anorith, Anopth (larva), Armaldo (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Anticasquilla lamina_

**Description:** Armaldo were very strange-looking pokemon. Standing 59 inches tall and measuring over 11 feet from head to tail, Armaldo's back, front, and limbs were covered in tough, chitinous armor, while their sides and tail were covered in a softer skin. They had two legs and two 'arms,' which each ended in a single claw. Their eyes, compound with pseudopupils, extended out from their heads. Armaldo were oddly proportioned, with elongated necks and a long, stiff tail as a counterbalance, attached to a surprisingly small torso. The tips of their tails were armed with two hard triangular flanges. Apart from their eyes, Armaldo's only soft parts were their vestigial fins, three sets of which projected from the neck, and the fourth, larger, functional set, which projected from the upper torso. The back of Armaldo's neck had a heavy plate, with four prominent bumps. The mouth of an Armaldo was vertebrate-like, but without proper teeth, instead with three chitin barbs in the upper jaw that served the same purpose. Armaldo's shape was overall vertebrate-like, but their lifecycle and anatomical features placed them firmly as entomon.

The juvenile Armaldo, Anorith, was very different from its adult stage. Completely lacking lower limbs and with very different proportions, it would be very difficult to determine that they were the same species. Anorith had three body segments, a head, a body, and a 'tail,' which like Armaldo had two flanges, but unlike Armaldo was very small. Anorith had two clawed forelimbs like Armaldo, and two stalked, pseudopupiled eyes. Their bodies were segmented, and adorned with eight fully-functional fins. Interestingly, Anorith's mouth had four mandibles that came together in an 'X' shape, like myribrachids but unlike most other entomon. This has interesting ramifications in the field of pokemon phylogeny.

These pokemon, in addition to being strangely shaped, were very colorful in both life stages. As Anorith, they were sage green, with dark grey on their backs, tail flanges, and claws. They had a distinctive black 'cap,' with two bright red spots. Their fins were all white in color, with red tips.

As adult Armaldo, their base color would change to blue, with markings in black and yellow. Their functional fins would darken to black with yellow edging, though they retained the white and red on their vestigial fins. Armaldo still had the black on their tail flanges, and the red and black 'cap,' but acquired several yellow markings, on the underside of the jaw, the segments from which projected their arms, and rimming the entire underbelly. Their knees were black.

**Range**: Armaldo were once found in western Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Armaldo were coastal dwellers, living in estuaries, lagoons, and tidal flats. As Anorith, they were believed to have lived out at sea, but would come to inland waters as adults to hunt and mate.

**Call:** Armaldo were said to growl harshly when provoked, and Anorith would make a tinkling noise.

**Diet**: Armaldo were predators, the top predator in their ecosystem. They hunted during high tide, preying mostly on Crawdaunt, which they cracked open with blows from their powerful forelimbs. They were also the only predators large enough to take fully-grown Ludicolo and Swampert, though they likely took these as prey only rarely. Armaldo rounded out their diet with Lombre and Whiscash.

Anorith are believed to have spent their time in very deep waters, hunting Clamperl by hammering their shells open.

**Life Cycle:** Little is known about Armaldo breeding, though it is known that females would lay masses of eggs in river mouths, likely during high flows. They did not look after their young and lived solitary lives.

Armaldo development, however, has been studied extensively from available specimens of different ages, and is fairly well understood. While maturing, Anorith went through several extreme molts, shedding their shells to reveal a changed body underneath. The legs of adult Armaldo developed from the last segment on the Anorith, from limb buds invisible in the larval stage. The vestigial fins on the adult remained from the functional ones on the larva, and the last set of fins on the larva became the adult's much larger, functional ones. The adult Armaldo's tail was a greatly lengthened version of the Anorith's. Most interestingly, the mouth of the Armaldo was formed from the upper mandible of the Anorith becoming a single 'upper jaw,' and the two side mandibles reducing until they became the two barbs in the mouth. This structure then worked against the fourth mandible, which served as a lower jaw. The result resembled a vertebrate jaw, but is anatomically distinct.

The maximum lifespan of an Armaldo is unknown, but some specimens suggest it may have been several decades.

**Relationship With Humans:** Armaldo were wiped out a few centuries ago, destroyed in part by the widespread draining of wetlands that endangers many freshwater pokemon, and in part by the belief that their presence harmed the valuable fishery for Corphish. Under these pressures, their low reproductive rate condemned them to extinction.

As with several extinct pokemon species, there has been talk of 'reviving' Armaldo with cloning, by taking samples from preserved specimens and growing them in a laboratory. However, arguments can be raised against this, mainly the fact that any population of pokemon created by this method would be genetically limited perhaps to the point of inviability.

The idea is still up for debate, and the costs and benefits of resurrecting the species have been discussed to death. And meanwhile, the museum specimens sit in storage, silent and awaiting their chance to live.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Armaldo were well known for the power of their forelimb strikes, which may have been the most powerful per square inch of any pokemon. They used this strike to break the shells and bones of their prey. They had moderately-developed water bladders.

Armaldo show many extremely primitive entomon features, especially as Anorith. Fossils similar to Anorith have been found in rocks hundreds of millions of years old, which made this species a true 'living fossil,' while it lived.


	72. Divinacervus primus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N: **Happy New Year!

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Common Name:** Arceus

**Scientific Name:** _Divinacervus primus_

**Description**: Arceus are magnificent pokemon. They are the largest known land mammals, quadrupeds that stand 6 feet at the shoulder, measure 13 feet from head to tail, and have four-foot necks.

Arceus walk on the very tips of their hooves, maintaining a precarious balance as they gallop through their mountainous habitats. Their tails are fluffy and flaglike, and are held out straight from the body when at rest. Their faces are hooded by bangs and a chin tuft, and their two pointed ears prick up alertly. They have thin lips and a horny protrusion on their foreheads that pokes through the bangs. Four spines protrude through the fur on either side of the neck. They have feathering on their upper and lower limbs.

Arceus show a high degree of sexual dimorphism, with adult males displaying several distinctive characteristics. Male Arceus have a crest of fur and cartilage extending from the backs of their heads, forming a long, stiff tassel for display. Females, in comparison, have only a small knob of cartilage on their heads. The male's chin tuft and bangs are much larger than the female's, and he has a large inflatable throat sac to increase the volume of his calls. Breeding males also develop swollen, hairless patches of skin at the corners of their mouths, called 'breeding patches.'

Most striking, however, are the males' antler rings, known locally as the 'horn mandala' for its shape and religious significance (see 'Relationship with Humans'). These antlers are a marvel, growing from buds midway along the spine and from the end of the sternum. Each antler branches several times. Three prongs grow from each bud, one going straight out from the body and the others curving around to encircle the torso. The prong that grows out straight then grows two more prongs, also curving away from it in the same plane. Most interestingly, the two prongs curving towards each other meet and fuse, connecting the upper and lower antler even as they grow! The prongs encircling the torso also fuse where they touch, and even put forth a joint prong that projects forward along the flank. The overall shape of the antlers is two halves of a circle arching on either side of the Arceus' body, one close to the torso and one further away, connected by spokes like an old-fashioned wagon wheel.

Arceus are largely covered with thick fur, snowy white over most of the body but dark grey on the underbelly, beneath the tail, beneath the tassel, and on the face. There is a thin black stripe between their eyes. The skin around their red eyes and the breeding patches on the corners of the males' mouths are light green. Their antler-rings, hooves, and forehead knob are golden in natural Arceus, with shining, iridescent green patches where the antler-rings branch.

**Range**: Arceus are only found in the Coronet Range of Sinnoh, today only in a few protected areas.

**Habitat: **Arceus live in high alpine forests and tundra, often inhabiting shockingly steep terrain.

**Call: **The call of Arceus is very high-pitched for a creature of its size, often said to sound more like a small bird than anything else! They twitter and tweet in rapid 'phrases' in the breeding season, and when aggravated they shriek breathily.

**Diet:** Arceus are browsers, eating alpine shrubs, grasses, and other plants. In winter, they retreat down the mountain and eat mostly tree bark.

**Life Cycle**: The antler rings of the male Arceus may have originally evolved for defense or for dueling with other males, but today have become so elaborate and delicate that they are mostly useless for anything except for display. They are so large they even decrease the Arceus' ability to escape predators, entangling in underbrush and hooking on tree branches. However, this may paradoxically add to the males' appeal, as surviving to adulthood despite such a great handicap could be seen as a sign of fitness and health.

The male Arceus displays to females in autumn by twittering loudly and shaking his head and body, often facing into the wind so that his tassel blows back to its full length. The males would traditionally gather at 'leks,' displaying grounds holding dozens of Arceus, but today gatherings of surviving males are smaller. Females visit different males' patches of ground, 'shopping' for the most impressive mate. After selecting a male and mating with him, she leaves and does not interact with him further.

Arceus give live birth in spring, secluding their grey-colored young in thickets until they begin to wean. The foal accompanies its mother for a year, then leaves as it begins to grow its adult coat.

Male Arceus shed their antler rings each year in early spring, growing them back over the summer, often larger each year. The new antler rings are covered in a dull skin, or velvet, which is shed when the antler rings are done growing.

Arceus may live to be 25 years old.

**Relationship with Humans:** Arceus was the most prominent deity worshipped in the pokemon cults of ancient Sinnoh, said to be the original font of matter and energy, the creator of the universe and of all pokemon. Said to have 1,000 arms, the god Arceus was venerated above even the large, predatory dragons of Sinnoh in the traditional pantheon. Its shed antlers were especially holy, and were collected from mountainsides for use in various religious ceremonies. It was strictly taboo to harm or even touch a living Arceus, but dead Arceus that were found were mummified and worshipped.

However, this state of affairs did not last. Today, Arceus are still respected, but more for their power in the arena than for their divinity. Their numbers have been so heavily reduced that perhaps only a few hundred remain, and it is illegal to capture, sell, or trade Arceus. They have thus far never reproduced in captivity.

Today, it is permitted to collect shed Arceus ring antlers for souvenirs, but only for a very limited period of time.

In the heyday of legal Arceus trade, captive Arceus were often fed dyes and pigments, compressed into bricks called 'plates,' that tinted their hard parts and often their fur various colors. This practice still continues in illegal Arceus smuggling rings, and such Arceus are often sold under different names, such as 'Sky Arceus' or 'Flame Arceus,' in an attempt to bypass law enforcement.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Arceus are very capable of defending themselves from Palkia, their main predator. They are fast, strong, moderately psychic, and can shriek loudly enough to temporarily deafen. They can be trained to project psychic power through the ground and to focus light into beams of laserlike intensity, even reflecting the light off of their antler rings' iridescent patches to scatter it.


	73. Pomiferasaurus tropius

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh, darn.

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Common Name:** Tropius

**Scientific Name:** _Pomiferasaurus tropius_

**Description:** Tropius are large reptilian pokemon, measuring 6½ feet long and standing 4 feet at the shoulder, with their heads resting two feet higher on a long neck. These pokemon are quadrupeds without tails, giving them an oddly unbalanced appearance. Their scaly skin ranges in color from a rich coppery brown to a duller, umber coloration, though they always have green, overlapping, leathery 'plates' in a collar around their neck. Their thick legs are tipped with large, dull yellow nails. Tropius also have a green, bony crest that extends from the back of their skulls over their faces, like a hood. In addition, they have bony protuberances extending to the side from behind their jaws and hooking forward, also green. One feature distinctive in Tropius is their facial 'fruit,' which grow from beneath the Tropius' ears and down their jaws. These are bright yellow and recurved, and can reach over 6 inches in length when fully 'ripe.' Despite their appearance, these 'fruits' are not soft and juicy, but rather hard, waxy buildups.

Tropius are best known, however, for their large 'wings,' actually vertebral spines that have grown enormously long and complex, capable of independent movement and possessing numerous filaments on both sides. These wings are dull green, and the health of the Tropius can often be deduced from the depth of the color.

**Range:** Tropius are found in eastern Hoenn, and have been introduced into southern Sinnoh, where they have made pests of themselves by eating the tendrils off of Tangrowth.

**Habitat**: Tropius live in moist lowland forests. It was once believed that they could not live in cold climates, but their success in Sinnoh has disproved that theory.

**Call:** When threatened, Tropius let loose a low, gutteral growl. They will grunt and moan to keep in contact with their herd.

**Diet**: Tropius are herbivores, eating fruits and tender leaves, but depend for most of their nutrition on the symbiotic algae that live in the filaments of their 'wings.' The Tropius' wing filaments exchange fluids, sugars, and trace nutrients with the algae, keeping both the Tropius and the algae well-fed. As a result, Tropius require less bulk forage than a pokemon of their size would be expected to.

On cool days, Tropius can be seen in sunny openings, their wings spread out wide to catch the light. However, when it is very hot, they angle their wings so as to not expose their algae to too much desiccating heat, and may even seek shade.

**Life Cycle:** Tropius live in loose herds, usually a breeding pair with their young and bachelor siblings. During the breeding season, the entire herd works to raise the single egg laid by the female. The Tropius calf, when it hatches, is fed its mother's 'fruits,' which it already has the strong jaws and teeth to chew. These fruits contain several important substances for the calf, including nutrients and chemicals that boost its immune system. The calf is born without symbiotic algae in its wings, and requires periodic feeding from the entire herd until it can acquire some from the environment. If all goes well, its relatives will not have used up all of their fruits before the calf begins photosynthesizing for itself. If not, it may starve, as it takes six months for the adults' fruits to grow back. Breeding is thus limited to once every six months.

Tropius herds may hold three or four generations, and over a dozen individuals, and larger herds lead to greater calf survival. However, since only one pair breeds in a herd, individuals will often leave to pursue their own breeding opportunities with a different herd. In this way, gene flow is maintained and herd size is kept in check.

Tropius may live 50 years or more.

**Relationship with Humans:** Tropius fruits are prized for traditional medicine, said to be good for a variety of ills, including fever, pox, and 'childhood malaise.' Tropius were once hunted for this purpose, but today are farmed.

Although their vertebral spines have the appearance of wings, and can even be 'flapped,' Tropius cannot fly. Folktales often portray Tropius as capable of flight, and for a long time this was nothing more than superstition. More recently, however, nanomodification and gene therapy by breeders have resulted in a Tropius with obscenely large wings, which is capable of a decent glide. These 'flying' Tropius are legal in the battling ring, but are never seen in the wild.

Tropius are not particularly targeted by the battle trade, but their populations have been declining due to habitat destruction.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Tropius' natural predator in Hoenn is Sceptile, and in Sinnoh they are occasionally eaten by Drapion. However, Sceptile are extinct in the wild, and so Tropius have effectively no predators in their native habitat.


	74. Dulcifelis lasciva

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**Common Name:** Skitty, Eneco

**Scientific Name:** _Dulcifelis lasciva_

**Description:** Skitty are small feline pokemon, standing 12 inches tall at the shoulder and measuring 42 inches from nose to tail. Their features are generally soft and round, even as adults, with large heads and fairly stubby legs. The Skitty's fur is bicolored pink and cream, with cream on the face, underbelly, chest, limbs, and the base of the tail. Skitty's cream facial markings make a distinctive 'crescent' shape. The insides of the large, tufted ears are purple. Their tails are tipped long pink fur that stands on end in a 'puff' when the Skitty is agitated. At the very end of the tail there protrude three thin, yellow quills. These quills are blunt-tipped and swell into rounded 'balls' at the end. It is believed that these serve as a social signal.

**Range:** Skitty are endemic to western Hoenn.

**Habitat:** Skitty live in dry, foothill scrub and forest.

**Call:** When alarmed or threatened, Skitty let out a shrill, mewling squeal. They will also growl.

In the breeding season, Skitty 'sing,' a strange sound that has been likened to an out-of-tune violin. The female's song is different from the male's, and has a harsher, more shriek-like tone to it. The song is not an entirely unpleasant sound, but seems to appeal more to other Skitty than it does to humans.

**Diet:** Skitty are carnivores, feeding mostly on insects and small nonpokemon vertebrates. They hunt mostly on the ground, though they occasionally climb trees when going after nestling birds. They are avid hunters, and will eagerly follow any moving, prey-sized object.

**Life Cycle:** Skitty breed at the end of the dry season, females in heat singing to attract males, while the males sing to advertise their vigor and robust health. The noise can at times be quite startling, the melodic wailing piercing through the night.

Male Skitty play no role in the rearing of young, and the female Skitty incubates her 3-5 leathery-shelled eggs herself. The Skitty kittens hatch quickly, but are helpless at birth. The mother often will often maintain several dens in small trees, and move her kittens from one to another to confound predators. She may even keep each kitten in a different den!

When the kittens are 8 months old, they leave to find their own territories. Skitty may live to be 17 years old.

**Relationship with Humans:** Skitty are extremely popular pets in Hoenn, for their playful natures, docility, and pleasing features. Overharvesting for the pet trade has depleted wild populations, though there are now regulations on wild capture.

Skitty tails were traditionally used by the Hoennese as toys for very young children and as good luck charms, but today most Skitty tails sold are fake.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Skitty are adept climbers, though they spend less time in the trees than other small felid pokemon. They are intelligent and can be taught many tricks. They have been observed to learn behaviors and mimic them swiftly just by watching, and sometimes even without watching! This latter phenomena is generally attributed to psychic abilities of the Skitty.

Skitty are sometimes killed and eaten by Mightyena, though they can climb trees to escape these predators.


	75. Dulcifelis delicatus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Delcatty, Enekororo

**Scientific Name: **_Dulcifelis delicatus_

**Description: **Delcatty are medium-sized, gracefully-proportioned felines, measuring 3 ½ feet at the shoulder and 5 ½ feet from nose to tail. Their fur is creamy white, with lavender fur on the ears and top of head, in a tuft at the tip of the tail, and in a ruff around the neck. Like their relatives the Skitty, Delcatty have long, blunt-tipped quills, but unlike them, the quills are around their necks, not on the tail. They have long cheek tufts and large tufted ears. Their eyes are dark.

**Range:** Delcatty used to be found in eastern Hoenn, but today are found only in captivity.

**Habitat**: Delcatty's habitat is rainforests and sub-rainforests.

**Call:** When aggravated, Delcatty make a rising and falling shriek. They will make other mewling calls as well, and in the breeding season they 'sing' to attract a mate, making a sound that is more akin to wailing.

**Diet:** Delcatty are carnivores, in the wild hunting mostly Zigzagoon and the occasional Marill. They hunt mostly at night, sneaking up on their prey by stealth and using their excellent sense of hearing to pinpoint its location before pouncing.

**Life Cycle**: Delcatty mate year-round, the female singing to convey her readiness to mate, and the male singing back to advertise his vigor. But the male does not help the female rear her young. Instead, the female Delcatty lays her 1-2 soft-shelled eggs in a nest at the end of a long burrow, which she incubates for about a month. The kittens, unlike as in Skitty, hatch alert and open-eyed, and can move from one den site to another with their mother almost immediately.

Delcatty can live to be over 20 in captivity, but in the wild rarely live past 10.

**Relationship with Humans:** Delcatty have luxuriant, beautiful fur on their heads and neck ruffs, and before killing wild pokemon for fur became illegal, they were popular targets for fur trappers. By the time this practice stopped, they were already rare, but the pet trade and battling industry soon did them in. Today, they are only found in captivity, but are very popular there, being a favorite at pokemon contests.

**Naturalists's Notes:** When not breeding, Delcatty do not keep a designated nest or den, instead wandering around their territories almost at random. One day they may sleep in a tree, the next in a burrow, the next in a natural cave, or under a bush. This constant changing of residence may be meant to fool predators, such as Absol and Mightyena.

Like their relatives the Skitty, Delcatty are intelligent and well-known behavioral mimics. Some claim that they are as intelligent as a small child, capable of rapidly learning dozens of commands. They are often helped in their mimicry by a mild psychic ability to 'read' behaviors out of the minds of others that they spend time with.

Their intelligence, self-sufficiency, beauty, and nonaggressive nature make Delcatty popular pets, and they are commonly bred in captivity. No breeding programs for wild release are currently under way, however, as most captive Delcatty are genetically altered.


	76. TiPB: Shiny Pokemon

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Topics in pokemon biology: 'Shiny' Pokemon**

Many pokemon trainers are motivated by the desire to capture the strongest pokemon, and to use it to battle the best pokemon owned by others. Other trainers look for the rare, collecting them as status symbols. And perhaps no pokemon bespeaks the luxury of rarity like a 'shiny' pokemon.

Shiny pokemon are extraordinarily rare. It is estimated that only 1 in approximately 8000 pokemon are born an alternate color. Thus, shiny pokemon are valued highly by collectors, and may fetch prices of thousands of dollars at auction.

'Shiny' may be a misnomer. Pokemon with alternate colorations can vary greatly from the 'normal' pigment, or be only a few shades off. They may be darker or lighter, or a different color entirely, resulting from many unique mutations. Thus, the designation of 'shiny' does not adequately encompass the diversity of alternate-color pokemon. However, it is the common term used.

There is generally only one official, registered alternate color for each pokemon species, but other mutations can occur, even more rarely than the 'normal' shiny mutation. These are albinism, partial leucism, and melanism. Albinism is the absence of pigment, and often results in pure white and cream pokemon with pink eyes. Partial leucism causes white patches on a normally-colored pokemon with normally-colored eyes, and melanism causes a dark brown or black color, due to excess pigment. These pokemon are very rare indeed, and highly desirable in the contest circuit.

Shiny pokemon do occur in the wild, but tend to have a low survival rate, due to their lack of camouflage and often poor success in attracting a mate. Most fully-grown shiny pokemon are thus found in captivity.


	77. Ichthyoptera nitidus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Finneon, Keikouo, 'Beautifly of the Sea' (colloquial)

**Scientific Name:** _Ichthyoptera nitidus_

**Description:** Finneon are small fish pokemon, measuring 16 inches long. Their bodies are streamlined and oval-shaped, with no anal or pelvic fins. They have a pair of small dorsal fins above their eyes, and small pectoral fins. Their mouths are positioned slightly underneath the body. Most noticeably, Finneon have two very large tail fins, each of which is double-lobed. They have large, pink eyes, and a stripe of hot pink down their body from above the mouth to above the tail. Below this stripe, the Finneon's scales are colored light blue or sky blue, and above it the scales are midnight blue. The tail is the same color as the underside, with a large pink spot on each lobe of the fin. Female Finneon are larger than males, and have larger bottom lobes to their tail fins.

The pink patches on a Finneon's tail are laid with small scales, similar to those on a Beautifly's wing. These scales are phosphorescent, storing energy from solar radiation and re-emitting it as red light for several hours following sunset. The light does not penetrate far into the water, but can be easily seen in clear, shallow streams.

**Range: **Finneon are found in eastern Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Finneon generally live in rivers and streams, but migrate to shallow reaches of the ocean to spawn.

**Call: **Finneon can shunt air in and out of their swim bladders to make a bouncy, chittering, squeaking call, usually given out in aggression.

**Diet:** Finneon are generalist feeders, eating nonpokemon insects and other small invertebrates in streams, and plankton in the ocean. They usually feed off the bottom, shoveling mud and sand aside with their snouts.

**Life Cycle:** Finneon have a catadromous lifestyle, meaning that they migrate from fresh water to salt water to breed. Breeding adult Finneon migrate in summer from the rivers where they live past the estuaries and then up the coast to shallow, calm breeding beaches. Sandbars off the coast have been found to host breeding Finneon as well.

When the adults reach the sandbanks, they pair up, females displaying their health to males with their large fins. The females burrow into the sand to lay hundreds of eggs, the male fertilizing them immediately after. They are often spent and exhausted by the end of this, but, if they survive the many waiting predators, they will migrate back to their rivers, navigating by smell until they reach fresh water again.

The Finneon fry are tiny and vulnerable, hiding in the offshore shellfish reefs and kelp forests until they reach about 6 inches in length (about a year and a half). At this point, they migrate to a nearby river, likely following the scent of fresh water. When they reach the river, they go through an internal transformation from saltwater to freshwater fish, and move upriver. Females, being larger, need larger streams to live in, and often take the higher-quality territories, pushing the smaller males to the periphery. They keep these territories until they are old enough to breed.

Finneon may live for 9 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Finneon are not particularly powerful pokemon in the arena, and though they are sometimes kept as pets, the demand is not high enough to make a dent in their population. They are not considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** The purpose of Finneon's phosphorescence is a puzzle that has not yet been solved, though there are several hypothesis, the main ones interpreting the patches as either a territorial threat display for other Finneon, or a bait for predators that causes them to bite at a nonvital part of the Finneon's body, allowing the pokemon to escape with its life. And while many wild Finneon are found with patches of their tails missing, which seems to validate the second hypothesis, these Finneon also seem less able to hold territories, which may validate the first. The answer may be a combination of the two.

Many aquatic predators eat Finneon, from Pelipper to Floatzel to Tentacruel. They are especially vulnerable when young, and may be eaten by Tentacool and Wingull in this stage. However, Finneon's phosphorescent scales are very bad tasting, and they have been known to shed these scales into the water as a defense. They will also spray water to deter predators.


	78. Petaloudaichthys astraphto

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name**: Lumineon, Neolant

**Scientific Name:** _Petaloudaichthys astraphto_

**Description:** Lumineon are midsized fish pokemon, measuring around 4 feet long from mouth to tail. Their bodies are oval in shape, with a long, narrow caudal fin that widens slightly at the tip. Lumineon's pelvic fins are stiff and stubby. The pectoral fins are extremely large, and are split in the middle into upper and lower lobes. Each lobe has a large, pennant-like 'tail' trailing from its edge, tipped with a small bioluminescent organ. Lumineon have no dorsal or anal fins.

Lumineon's base coloration is a deep midnight blue, with powder blue markings. The lighter color is found on the face, in a ring around the middle of the body, the edges of the pectoral fins, and the pelvic fins. There is also a pinkish spot on either side of the caudal fin, near its tip. The eyes are deep pink.

**Range:** Lumineon is found in the waters off of western Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Lumineon live on the deep ocean floor, out in the abyssal plain. They migrate into shallow water to breed.

**Call: **Lumineon have an echoing '_ooooooh OOH ooh'_ call that they release in the mating season. The sound often starts with one pokemon, which quickly incites the others to a frenzy of calling, then spawning.

**Diet:** These pokemon are carnivores, feeding off of deepwater nonpokemon and Manaphy. They perch on the bottom, stabilizing themselves with their stiff pelvic fins, and use the bioluminescent organs on the edges of their pectoral fins as lures. This may possibly mimic small bioluminescent organisms. When the prey approaches close enough, the Lumineon swallows it whole.

**Life Cycle:** Lumineon only ever come up from the depths when it is time to breed, usually in mid- autumn. The resulting Pelipper feeding frenzy that makes for high mortality amongst the Lumineon, but enough survive to carry on the next generation. The Lumineon lay their eggs under rocks, then retreat back down to the abyss. In a few weeks, their fry hatch, and shelter in the shallows for some time before joining their parents.

It takes Lumineon up to 30 years to reach breeding condition, and they can survive up to a century more, if they make it through the rigors of reproduction. This long lifespan is believed to be due to their extremely low metabolism.

**Relationship With Humans:** Lumineon is not heavily pursued for the battle trade, and is not generally fished for food. The most pressing concern for this pokemon is the development and pollution of its breeding lagoons, where excess sediment can smother their eggs. As of this writing, the overall population seems to be stable, though several local stocks have collapsed. It is difficult to be certain, however, since Lumineon's long lifespan makes a decline in breeding success more difficult to notice.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Lumineon is often said to have evolved in convergence with the Johto pokemon Lanturn. Its feeding style is indeed very similar, in that they both use bioluminescence, though Lumineon hunts on the bottom and Lanturn in the midwater.

Lumineon are crucial in the life cycle of Pelipper, which use the breeding adults as a last meal before they migrate south for the winter. If the Lumineon breed at a different time, or fail to breed in large enough numbers, the Pelipper population almost always takes a dive.


	79. Phytochelone plantifer

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** Hey! I started a forum for The Natural History of Pokemon! Discuss pokemon biology, as well as the society and technology of a realistic pokemon world!

The link is on my profile. Go join!

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**Common Name**: Turtwig, Naetle

**Scientific Name:** _Phytochelone plantifer_

**Description:** Turtwig are small reptilian pokemon, measuring 16 inches long, standing on four stubby legs and with a short tail. They have large heads, large eyes, and powerful jaws. Like true turtle pokemon such as Torkoal, Turtwig's backs are protected by a tough carapace, but unlike them they do not have a plastron protecting their underbellies. From the back of Turtwig's head there projects a boney 'spine,' with two large leaflike extensions.

Turtwig's body scales are moss green, and their lower jaws and feet are dull yellow. The area surrounding the head spine, and the head spine itself, is fallow brown, and the extensions from it are forest green. Turtwig's eyes have yellow sclera and nearly-black irises. This pokemon's shell is normally covered with dirt, but when clean it is predominantly fallow brown, with taupe margins and a taupe stripe across the center of the shell. The shell is often sticky and moist to the touch, and its scutes are arranged in overlapping, bandlike plates, unlike those of true turtle pokemon, which are usually arranged more like tiles.

**Range:** Turtwig are native to the southern portions of Sinnoh. Today wild Turtwig are found only in a few reserves.

**Habitat:** Turtwig's habitat is open forests, often near riparian areas.

**Call: **Turtwig's are mostly silent, calling only in the mating season. The call is a squeaking, bouncing hiccup.

**Diet:** Turtwig are omnivores, feeding mostly off fruits and herbs, but also scavenging carrion and eating nonpokemon insects.

**Life Cycle:** Turtwig live in small, loose colonies, with a hierarchy depending on size and aggression. Smaller, less aggressive Turtwig will back off when larger Turtwig demand food or mating opportunities. These pokemon mate in fall, and bury up to ten eggs in the leaf litter. The eggs go into stasis for the winter, and incubate with the spring's warming soil. The Turtwig hatchlings emerge by late spring.

Turtwig hibernate in winter, often in groups at the bottoms of slow-moving rivers or ponds, waking only every few hours to take a breath at the surface.

These pokemon can live 50 years or more, if they are lucky.

**Relationship with Humans:** Turtwig are currently only found in a few select protected areas and private collections. The pokemon have suffered from catastrophic population collapse in most areas. This is believed to be due partially to habitat destruction and draining of wetlands, but is also connected to the introduction of nonnative, predatory Whiscash, which slurps up helpless Turtwig as they hibernate.

However, Turtwig reproduce prolifically in captivity, and are often given to beginning trainers in Sinnoh.

A typical Turtwig day consists mostly of basking in the sun, and many folk tales insist that Turtwig live off nothing but sunlight and water, like a plant. However, unlike their larger relatives the Grotle, Turtwig are not plant symbionts, and only resemble plants as camouflage.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Turtwig camouflage themselves by covering their sticky shells with a layer of dirt. They are almost impossible to see when fully coated, and look like nothing so much as a dirt clump with a sprout coming out of it. In order to get this coating, they will dig a small burrow and rub their shells on the ceiling of the tunnel until it is fully coated.

The leaflike flanges on Turtwig's head are sharp-edged, and Turtwig will toss their heads to try and scratch predators that try to attack from above. They can also defend themselves by biting.

Turtwig are prey for many pokemon, including the introduced Whiscash as well as the native Quagsire, Drapion, Toxicroak, and Carnivine.


	80. Syndetrochelone arbusculifer

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Grotle, Hayashigame

**Scientific Name:** _Syndetrochelone arbusculifer_

**Description:** Grotle are thickset reptilian pokemon, measuring 5 feet long and 2 feet at the shoulder. Their legs are pillar-like with three stubby, large-nailed toes, and they have a powerful beaklike jaw, with spines growing from their cheeks. Grotle's dorsal surface is covered with overlapping boney plates, from the reptile's forehead to its tail. These plates in turn have three raised ridges running down them, one centered along the Grotle's spine and one on either side. The two outer ridges each have a complex, coral-like 'bushy' structure growing from and covering them, technically referred to as _arboria_.

Grotle's scales are mostly moss green in color, though the feet and lower jaw are buff-yellow. The shell is also buff-yellow, with the ridges darkening to fallow brown. The arboria are a deep fern green in a healthy Grotle.

**Range:** Grotle are native to lowlands of western Sinnoh. Today, they are found entirely in captivity.

**Habitat:** Grotle's habitat is lowland forests. They enjoy access to riparian areas and forest clearings.

**Call:** Grotle make a dry, snorting growl when aggravated.

**Diet:** Grotle get much of their nutrition from the symbiotic algae living in their arboria, but also feed on fruits, insects, and occasionally carrion. If stressed or ill, their algae may die, bleaching their bushes white. Grotle can survive bleaching, but only if they soon acquire a new batch of algae.

**Life Cycle:** Grotle are solitary much of the year, and find mates by scent in early spring. Males pursue and pester females, and may nip them until they submit to their advances. The 8-10 eggs hatch in summer, and the young disperse. The hatchlings' arboria are white, but soon absorb algae, usually from mud- or water-wallows, and turn their regular deep green.

Grotle do not use just any algae, but a species specifically adapted to living in their arboria. The algae spread their genes by creating hard spore capsules, commonly referred to as 'nuts,' with a thin fatty layer that Staravia find irresistible. The bird pokemon eat the spore capsules and spread the spores in their droppings to distant water bodies, which young Grotle wallow in and are thus inoculated with the algae. However, eating these spores can sometimes have dire consequences (see 'Naturalist's Notes).

Grotle hibernate through the winter, digging burrows and sealing the entrance with leaf litter. These pokemon may live 50 years or more.

**Relationship with Humans:** Grotle are said in folklore to guide lost travelers and other pokemon to fresh water. However, while it is true that Grotle are riparian-associated, backpackers should not assume that the water they live near is clean or safe to drink!

This species is extinct in the wild, due to habitat destruction and the battle trade, but is common in captivity. Some efforts to reintroduce the species have been attempted, but without success.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Grotle's arboria are unique to the species, and though they appear similar in function to the wings of a Tropius, the two pokemon are not closely related. Both structures serve as a place for symbiotic algae to grow. The arboria are constructed from altered bone and keratin, and overlaid with soft, living tissue.

The spore capsules produced by Grotle's symbiotic algae are usually harmless to their disperser. However, occasionally, the spores produced are in a virulent form, which can be deadly if they are ingested or even if they come into contact with mucus membranes or orifices. The algae spread internally, and can cause death quickly. It is not unheard of for young or bleached Grotle to eat the bodies of pokemon killed this way, and thus gain symbiotic algae for their own arboria. The precise environmental stressors that cause these noxious spores to be produced are not well understood, but hormone treatments can cause captive Grotle to produce them in large quantities.

Luxray prey on Grotle, as do Drapion. Rampardos were believed to once have preyed on Grotle as well.


	81. Terrachelone continentifer

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Torterra, Dodaitose

**Scientific Name:** _Terrachelone continentifer_

**Description:** Torterra are very large dinosaurian pokemon, extremely thickset on four legs. They measure 9 ½ feet long, and stand about 3 feet at the shoulder. The head is large and heavy, with a serrated beak and two large spines projecting off the cheeks. Torterra's feet are trunklike, with three blunt nails in front and one in back. Their tails are relatively short. Torterra's plated upperside is sea green, while its underside and legs are raw umber in coloration. There is a black ring of scutes around the eye, and a raw umber mask on the upper jaw. The beak is black, and the eyes are red.

The most distinctive feature of a Torterra, however, is its carapace. These pokemon have a high, domed back, covered with many exceedingly complex scutes and ossicles. The perimeter of the back is rimmed by a ridge of inwardly-curved plates, and there are large, flat plates over the hips and shoulders. From the right flank there project three large spikes, which are asymmetrical, without any spikes on the left. The rest of the carapace is covered with several different types of smaller ossicles. Some are ridgelike, while others are more convoluted and rough. Most are contoured to the back of the Torterra.

These small scutes, however, are rarely seen. An adult Torterra is usually covered by a thick cloak of vegetation, up to and including dwarfed (bonsai) trees, growing from the soil it has collected on its carapace. This living blanket provides the Torterra with excellent camouflage, and these pokemon are extremely difficult to spot in their natural habitat.

**Range:** Torterra are native to lowlands of both eastern and western Sinnoh. Today they are found only in captivity.

**Habitat:** Torterra are found in lowland forests.

**Call:** Torterra let out a growling, shrieking roar when they feel aggressive. They may also hiss when threatened.

**Diet:** Torterra are omnivores, eating a variety of plants but also sampling carrion and the occasional egg. They have been known to eat the tendrils off of Tangrowth.

**Life Cycle:** Torterra are solitary through most of the year, though they gather into groups for the winter months. They go into torpor as the snow falls and food sources vanish, usually only moving to get something to drink or relieve themselves. They otherwise simply huddle in a calm, sheltered spot. Males come out of torpor earlier than females, taking the risk of inclement weather to mate with the still-lethargic females while they cannot resist.

Females bury a clutch of 5-6 eggs in spring, and the young hatch by summer, fully independent.

Torterra are long-lived, known to push 80 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** The people of ancient Sinnoh people had a great deal of respect for Torterra, and believed that the earth lay on the back of an enormous specimen of the species. However, unlike some other Sinnoh pokemon, Torterra was not revered as a god.

Today, these pokemon are not considered particularly desirable in the arena, but habitat destruction sounded their death knell long before pokemon battling became the industry it is today. However, enough Torterra survived the logging and mining in private collections to maintain a healthy captive population today. Although there are no current plans for wild release, Torterra are an excellent candidate for it.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Torterra's many scutes, and unusual carapace, is designed to collect and hold soil on the pokemon's back. Like their cousins the Turtwig, young Torterra will dig a shallow tunnel in the ground and scrape the roof with their spines. Tiny grooves in the scutes trap soil particles, and the curved scutes on the edges keep them from falling off. However, unlike Turtwig, which spend more time in the water and often need to replace their soil covering, Torterra keep their soil long enough for windblown or tree-dropped seeds to accumulate in it. Usually, buy the time a Torterra is a few years old, it has some grass and weeds growing on it, which drops litter that builds up more soil and allow larger plants to take root.

Torterra spend a great deal of time cultivating this garden, dipping their bodies into water to tend the plants and basking in the sunlight to feed them. Small nonpokemon and even Wurmple and Burmy have been known to settle on Torterra's plants, which the larger pokemon doesn't seem to mind. In the case of female Burmy, they may spend their entire lives on the Torterra's back!

The reason for Torterra's living decorations is generally believed to be camouflage, but the sophisticated behaviors built around it seem to indicate that something else may be going on. The soil and plants may mask the Torterra's scent as well as its form, and may even provide protection from biting flies and other parasites. More research in semi-wild situations is needed.

Torterra are well-defended against most predators, but it is believed that they were once prey for Giratina.


	82. Beluascorpius sectivus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Scorupi (nymph), Drapion (adult)

**Scientific Name:** _Beluascorpius sectivus_

**Description:** Drapion are very large entomon, measuring ~8 feet stretched out from head to tail. However, Drapion usually raise their tail and the front of their torso, and when doing so stand 3 ½ feet tall. These pokemon have six limbs, and use the hind four for locomotion while the front two are up by the head and used for object manipulation. They have a long tail as well, and their head is sunken, with no neck. Drapion have a set of hollow pincers on the tips of their tails, and claws on the first set of limbs. The segments on the forelimbs and tail have flanges on the exoskeleton.

The mouth structure of Drapion is complex, as is true with most entomon, and consists of a serrated jaw-like structure, aided by two thin, clawlike mandibles. The eyes are stalked, and they have two stubby antennae in front of the eyes. There is a small spine on the back of the head.

Drapion nymphs are called 'Skorupi,', and have much smaller torsos. Skorupi have only a single spike on their forelimbs instead of full pincers, and are generally smaller and stockier in appearance.

Drapion are banded with shades of plum and pale purple, with teal spots above the tail pincers and the limb pincers. The tips of the hind legs, the pincers, and the mandible claws are ivory white. The Skorupi are more dull and bluish in color, with blue-purple and lilac bands. The compound eyes in both life stages are a striking blue, with a small pseudopupil. In older Drapion, the bases of the eyes turn pale white.

**Range**: Drapion are only found in southern Sinnoh.

**Habitat:** Drapion are habitat specialists, living in coastal freshwater marshes.

**Call**: When feeling aggressive, Drapion let out a low, whiny growl, _err-eee-ow_. Skorupi will squeak and vibrate their claws together to create a rattle as a warning to larger predators.

**Diet:** Drapion are fearsome predators, feeding on most any pokemon they can catch, occasionally even pokemon up to the size of a Tropius, much larger than themselves! More common prey are Bibarel and Marill. These pokemon also practice cannibalism on any Drapion or Skorupi smaller than themselves.

Drapion feed with their mandibular claws, which are not strong like the forelimb pincers but very dexterous. They tear pieces off of their prey, and place it in their mouth, where it is not chewed, but 'pre-digested' with digestive enzymes before being swallowed. Eating can take some time for these pokemon.

Though Drapion will glut themselves when they can, they fast through the winters, and can go months without food. Some have been known to go more than 12 months in a dormant state, without eating anything!

**Life Cycle:** The Drapion's ferocity and willingness to eat other members of its species makes courtship and mating a very tricky proposition. Males search out females by scent in the spring, and go through a strange courtship 'dance' involving the two Drapion clasping forelimb pincers and tugging back and forth vigorously. This dance can go on for hours, during which time the female may become bored and reject him.

If the male's dancing passes muster, he begins to tug more insistently, pulling the female to an open, clear spot to mate. Mating in Drapion does not involve copulation. Instead, the male deposits a sperm packet, which the female then takes up, fertilizing her.

Within the week, the female Drapion will have deposited dozens of eggs in various sheltered, moist locations, and the Skorupi hatch about a month later.

Young Skorupi go through several molts as they mature, growing and changing slightly in shape each time. If they escape predation by Toxicroak and by other Drapion, they may live up to 25 years.

**Relationship With Humans**: Although Drapion are widely feared for their aggression and venom, these pokemon have more to fear from humans than the other way around.

Wetland draining has decimated Drapion's habitat, and though it is still locally common, this pokemon has disappeared over most of its range. Its most robust remaining population resides in the partially-protected 'Great Marsh.'

One interesting anthropological note: cave paintings from the cold deserts in the rain shadow of Coronet often feature this species, which indicates that the region was once much wetter.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Skorupi have powerful venom glands in their tail pincer, which weakens when they become adult Drapion. They use this venom on prey larger than themselves, and as defense against predators. However, the venom may be energetically expensive to produce, explaining why it weakens in the adult Drapion, which are capable of overpowering prey with sheer strength.

Hormone therapy has been found to 'cure' this venom deficit in captive Drapion, and fully-venomous Drapion are common in the battle trade. Skorupi usually do not deliver enough venom to be deadly to humans, but can cause pain and swelling for days. Treated Drapion, however, can deliver enough venom in a sting to kill.


	83. Incendileo vulcanus

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

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**Common Name: **Entei

**Scientific Name:** _Incendileo vulcanus_

**Description:** Entei are very large, carnivorous mammals. While adult males measure four feet at the shoulder and nearly seven feet long, these powerful predators are sexually dimorphic. Females are smaller than males by a third, and also lack many of the colorful markings associated with the species.

An Entei cuts an imposing figure. It has long, shaggy rust-colored fur, thickening into a mane on the head and neck. The paws and face are light grey, there are black bands around all four legs, and there is a beige streak from the lower jaw down the throat, ending in light grey at the forechest. An Entei's tail just a stub, and is not visible due to the thickness of its fur. Their ears are similarly small and not readily visible.

Male Entei also have several unusual secondary sexual characteristics, which show up much reduced on the females, if at all. They have a crest along their back made up of very long, fluffy, airy white hairs. While females can show some white hairs on the back, they do not show crests in the same way. Males also have large keratin plates midway down their backs, emerging from either side of the spine. There are six of these gray growths on each side, each one approximately diamond shaped and overlapping each other in two layers, with the top three plates larger than the bottom. Females lack even a vestige of these plates. While both male and female Entei have whiskers, the male's whiskers are much longer, drooping to each side of its face like a pale gray mustache. Finally, male Entei have large fleshy growths on their faces, which become inflated, bright, and colorful in the mating season. From midway down the muzzle, a three-pronged yellow 'crown' extends to the top of the male Entei's head, and behind the eyes and down the cheeks there is a large, red fanlike growth, also with three prongs. Females lack all traces of these growths.

**Range:** Entei are wide-ranging within Johto, and can be found in any area of adequate habitat. Each individual Entei needs 20-40 square miles of habitat to survive.

**Habitat:** Entei live for most of the year in subalpine forest and alpine tundra, though they migrate into lowlands in the winter.

**Call**: Entei's territorial call is a short, deep, gruff roar. During the mating season, males will let out several short 'barks,' in a row.

**Diet:** Entei are carnivores, and hunt large pokemon by stealth, usually at night when their colorful coats don't hinder them. They mostly prey on Mareep, Flaafy and Ampharos, but will also take down Machoke, Magmar, Jynx, and Piloswine. Like other predators that hunt bipeds, they tend to view humans as prey as well.

**Life Cycle:** Entei breed in early winter, when they come down from their alpine territories and mingle in the lowlands. There, they break their regular territoriality, and instead gather into 'leks,' display grounds where the males try to impress females. Leks tend to be open areas without tall vegetation. The females wait on the edges like an audience, while the males roar, and strut, shaking their bodies so that their keratin plates rattle against each other. They also erect their crests, and when taken together with the shaking, the displaying males can appear to be attached to a cloud of frizzy white fur.

The purpose of these displays is to intimidate other males as well as to attract the females. Though it is still unclear how females make their decisions, genetic studies have shown that nearly all the cubs from one year tend to have only one or two fathers: 'superdads' who mate with most of the females.

Once the mating season is over, Entei go back to solitary lives. The females gestate for only a few months, and give live birth to one or two tiny, helpless cubs in spring. The quick-growing infants usually poke their heads out of their den after another month, and accompany their mother for a year before leaving to carve out their own territories.

Entei may live 25 years in captivity, but they do not breed in a captive setting.

**Relationship with Humans: **Entei feature prominently in the mythology of Johto. They are believed to be born out of volcanoes, and to cause volcanic eruptions with their roars. The pokemon's speed, endurance, striking appearance, and secretiveness have caused some of these myths to persist into the modern era.

As with Johto's other 'great beasts,' Raikou and Suicune, the first Entei was believed to have been created by a god that takes the form of a Ho-oh. It was seen as a pokemon reborn, a creature that epitomizes the cycles of life (or the geologic cycle, as some historians have hypothesized). They were also said to embody passion.

Today, Entei are extremely rare, due to habitat destruction primarily. Their need for large blocks of pristine habitat as well as corridors from highlands to lowlands, makes them particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation. Only male Entei are permitted to be captured from the wild.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Entei are capable of biocombustion, and will use this ability to herd prey when they hunt. They have no predators.


	84. Caudammorsus longacervix

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N:** I have rewritten chapters 18 (Corticicutis cocoiovis), 39 (Longaminus clarus), and 61 (Gossypium acanthinasperma). You might want to give them another look.

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**Common Name:** Girafarig, Kirinriki

**Scientific Name:** _Caudammorsus longacervix_

**Description:** Girafarig is a large mammalian pokemon, measuring 6 ½ feet long from nose to tail, and 6 feet tall. They are lanky and long-necked, with four long legs tipped with cloven hooves. Girafarig have two triangular ears, two skin-covered horns with a puff of hair on top, and fleshy, drooping lips. These pokemon have triangular, keratinous plates in a single row along their spine.

The Girafarig's tail is distinctive, looking more like an insect's pincer than a normal tail. The tail overall is narrow and stiff. It is swollen into a knob at the tip and plated with keratin like a claw. The bottom part of the knob is a broad spine, which is articulated to flex and snap against the top. The knob has two large, yellow eyespots on the upper part, and white stripes on the lower.

The front of Girafarig's body is gold in color, with irregular bistre patches on the flanks and neck, while the back of the body is bistre with irregular gold patches. In general, female Girafarig have more gold on the body. A nasal cap over the Girafarig's nostrils is large and baby pink, as are the back plates. Girafarig have a white blaze on their face, and the tufted horns are white as well.

**Range:** Girafarig are found in eastern Sinnoh down to northern Johto.

**Habitat:** Girafarig live in lowland forests, both coniferous and deciduous.

**Call:** Grafarig are mostly quiet pokemon, but will squeal loudly when startled.

**Diet**: Girafarig are mostly browsers, eating woody material like twigs, leaves, and brush. They occasionally graze on grass as well. Girafarig use their oddly long tongues to reach branches just out of reach.

**Life Cycle:** Girafarig are generally solitary pokemon, though they are not very territorial, and may occasionally gather in small groups where the browse is ideal. Males mate with females in winter where their territories overlap, and they compete for the best territories by butting heads. After a long gestation, Girafarig females lay a single, very large, well-developed egg in a secluded location, and incubate it for about a week. The Girafarig calf is able to walk and able to follow its mother around only hours after hatching.

Girafarig are long-lived, and if not killed by predators will live up to 30 years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Girafarig are not particularly sought in the arena. They have suffered from habitat destruction, but are not considered threatened.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Most people who have studied Girafarig take a deep interest its tail, and how it seems to move about and weave on its own, almost as if independent from the rest of the pokemon. The tail is not capable of eating, though it seems to have a 'jaw' that rattles in apparent excitement when the Girafarig eats.

In truth, Girafarig have a secondary 'brain,' though it is very small, more like a ganglion, at the base of its pelvis. This brain attaches to the Girafarig's tail, and neurology experiments have shown that Girafarig's main brain is not fully in control of its tail's movements, to the extant that some consider the tail a second, rudimentary 'head.'

The Girafarig's tail has no conventional senses, but it is moderately psychic, and is capable of psychically sensing the nerve activity of others. If anything, human or pokemon, gets too close to a Girafarig's tail, the tail will lash out and 'bite.' The bite is really a pinch of the bottom spine against the top of the knob, but it still certainly hurts. The tail will attack anything but the Girafarig's own calf, and cannot otherwise learn to distinguish friend from foe.

Amazingly, Girafarig's main brain is not psychic, and its psychic abilities are entirely controlled by the secondary brain. The fact that Girafarig can learn to use psychic abilities on command indicates a more complex relationship between the two brains than is currently understood, and more research on the topic is needed.


	85. Plasmare plasmare

**Disclaimer:** What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.

**A/N: **After long and careful thought, I have decided how I am going to approach ghost and 'artificial' pokemon. Since this is a natural history text, I will write the majority of these pokemon as though they are real, organic, living beings. So expect a lot of weirdness: parasites, deep sea inspired organisms, and bizarre invertebrates.

For those of you who long ago voted in my poll, thank you, but I attempted to write the ghosts as more 'supernatural,' and decided that it was more interesting and creatively challenging to write them as animal-like.

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**Common Name:** Rotom

**Scientific Name:** _Plasmare plasmare_

**Description: **Rotom are highly unusual pokemon, belonging to a group of invertebrates with no other members considered pokemon, the ctenophores. Ctenophores are also known as 'comb jellies,' and while most members of the group are aquatic, Rotom have adapted to a terrestrial existence.

Rotom levitate psychically, with their mouth facing down. Rotom's foot-long body appears to have three parts: a small spherical lobe on the bottom, where the mouth is located (the oral lobe), a large spherical section in the middle (the main body), and a tall, narrow, conical lobe at the top (the aboral lobe). Rotom's red skin is lined with rows of cilia, tiny hairs that flutter constantly, diffracting light around its body and causing a blue-green 'glowing' effect. A cluster of longer, stiffened cilia surround the mouth. Dangling from the connection between the oral lobe and the main body are two tentacles, each one 20 inches long and lined with sticky hairs.

All ctenophores produce light-sensitive proteins, but Rotom collect these proteins into clusters that work as primitive eyes. The eyes are located on the main body, and face the same side. The light-sensitive spots are dark blue, and are surrounded by two whitish half-circles of muscle that act like an iris, pulling shut in bright light. Between the eyes is a small slit used for waste excretion.

**Range**: Rotom are found throughout Sinnoh.

**Habitat**: In a natural setting, Rotom inhabit cave systems. However, today, Rotom are found almost entirely in landscapes that are heavily inhabited by humans, especially industrial zones and low-income residential areas. Abandoned buildings are often full of them.

**Call: **Rotom can squeeze air through their mouth, creating a long squeak when alarmed, ending in a sound not unlike air escaping from a balloon.

**Diet:** Adult Rotom are specialist predators, feeding on the electrical impulses and tissues of Magnezone. In a natural setting, they hunt by stealth, hiding beneath leaf litter, under sand and gravel, or in burrows, with only their tentacles emerging from the hiding place. They are capable of sensing electrical impulses, and when they sense those of a Magnezone, they twitch their tentacles up and adhere them to the shell of their prey. They will then 'reel' their bodies up, and drill a small aperture into a hinge in the Magnezone's shell with their stiffened cilia. They then go through a bizarre feeding process, involving shifting its shape, draining the Magnezone of its electricity, and taking over it the larger pokemon's body.

A Rotom is capable of 'liquefying' its body, losing its shape and stiffness. It becomes gelatinous, capable of slipping its entire body into the small hole it made in the Magnezone's shell, insinuating itself into every internal space of the Magnezone, and linking its nerves with those of its prey. The Rotom swiftly over-stimulates the Magnezone's electrogenic organs, and absorbs the Magnezone's electricity to power its own metabolism. This generally causes the Magnezone to crash to the ground, as it is unable to maintain its internal electromagnet. If it needs more nutrients, the Rotom can then eat the soft tissues of the helpless Magnezone at its leisure. However, instead of consuming the entire Magnezone immediately, the Rotom will often switch to an even stranger behavior. The Rotom will take over the Magnezone entirely, surrounding its larger prey with its tissues and levitating its helpless body around, providing itself with some measure of armor, as well as a living food source that can last weeks. Such Magnezone are easily distinguished in the field by their orange color, due to the thin layer of Rotom tissue that surrounds the shell. Sometimes, the Rotom's eyes are also visible.

Although Rotom are fairly specialized in the wild, they have proven themselves remarkably adaptable to living in urban areas, and do so by shifting their electricity draining habits from Magnezone to household electronics. Rotom home in on the electrical impulses given off by refrigerators, fans, or most anything else with an electric motor, and insinuate themselves into the mechanism just as they would a Magnezone. When the Rotom needs to move, they surround the appliance with their tissues, turning it orange, and often expose their eyes. Rotom often learn to 'plug themselves in' to absorb more energy, and can levitate and move about the machines they inhabit, always on the lookout for more electricity. They cannot absorb nutrients from these machines, but are more than capable of sustaining themselves on pure electricity for a long time, occasionally emerging to consume human garbage or insects to obtain the trace vitamins they need.

In all settings, juvenile Rotom act as predators of small insects, and eat whatever tiny prey they can snare until they are fully-grown.

**Life Cycle**: Rotom are hermaphrodites, and mate whenever they find each other, no matter the time of year. When one Rotom finds another inhabiting a Magnezone (or machine!), they will often each extend and entwine tentacles, exchanging weak pulses of electricity. This is likely in order to trade information about their respective health and age, and to determine which one will lay the eggs. The younger Rotom will usually be the one to leave the protection of their Magnezone shell, and briefly move into the shell of the other Rotom to mate. Days after going their separate ways, the Rotom that did not emerge will lay a mass of hundreds of soft, fragile eggs on the inside of the Magezone shell, place the shell somewhere safe, and abandon it to find another Magnezone, regaining their previous shape. The shell will then serve as a protective nest for the incubating Rotom until they hatch as perfect miniatures of their parents.

Rotom usually live around four years.

**Relationship with Humans:** Due to a combination of the widespread decline of Magnezone, and the tendency of humans to provide and concentrate electricity in remarkable quantities, Rotom have become something of a pest in Sinnoh's urban areas. Insinuating themselves into household electronics, Rotom render the equipment unusable, and can cause thousands of dollars' worth of damage. Safeguarding electrical appliances from Rotom can be accomplished by always unplugging them when not in use, so as not to attract the pokemon. A Rotom that does find its way into one's home can be dangerous, and approaching it without a well-trained pokemon of one's own is not advised. Extermination services are available in most cities and major towns, and most sell the captured pokemon at auction to pokemon trainers, who hold Rotom in high regard.

Although Rotom are capable of inhabiting most types of electrical appliance as a 'host,' but only five host bodies are allowed for arena-fighting Rotom: refrigerators, lawn mowers, fans, microwaves, and washing machines.

**Naturalist's Notes:** Rotom are electrogenic and mildly psychic, able to confound the senses and affect perception. Despite these defenses, they are often preyed upon in the wild by Bronzong.


End file.
